


Argument to Disaster

by Najagref



Category: Kuroshitsuji : The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World - Iwasaki/Mori/Mari, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Amnesia, Anal Sex, Blackmail, Contracts, Demons, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mpreg, Murder, Oral Sex, Revenge, Secret Crush, Suicide Attempt, Thorns of Death, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-28 06:13:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15042530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Najagref/pseuds/Najagref
Summary: Who knew that Ronald getting blackmailed would cause so much trouble? As Alan is dealing with the Thorns, he has to also deal with an unknown, immortal suitor.(based on an RP with foxyknoxie on tumblr)





	1. Chapter 1

Ronald was, to say the least, having a very bad day. Grell had blackmailed him into doing her work while she slacked off in mortal London. Plus, one of his collections with Eric had gone wrong. He knew this would lead to more overtime and an even angrier boss. Ronald let out a stressed sigh when he received a message from a junior reaper that William wanted to see the ginger in his office. At that moment, Ronald knew that this day was about to get a lot worse. He knew that his boss, and crush was going to lay into him.

Once Ronald arrived at the man’s office, he knocked on the door before entering. He knew that he would likely get yelled at for entering the office without knocking.

William was sitting in his office going over reports. Earlier he had noticed that several reports were poorly written and only partially completed. Upon further inspection, all the reports were completed by Ronald Knox. He had another junior go and get Ronald for him while he continued to go over other paperwork. This was far from the first time that William had to talk to Ronald regarding the quality of his paperwork. When he heard a knock on his office door, he called for the reaper to come in. He observed the younger reaper as he came inside and took a seat across from him.

“Ronald Knox. Do you know why I have called you here?” William spoke, his voice cold and stern.

“No, I don’t Boss. Could be anythin’,” Ronald replied, really not knowing what was wrong _now_. He just knew that the wrong thing said might set him off in a way that he would likely tell off William… which he didn’t want. The last thing he wanted was to make the man he had a crush on anymore angry at him than he was.

 _I’m really in a bad mood, thanks ta Senior Sutcliff…_ Ronald thought.

William didn’t reply right away. Instead he took a stack of papers out of his desk drawer and set them in front of Ronald. They were the most recent reports that the ginger had turned in after completing.

“I was going over reports and again found out that you have been slacking on your paperwork. Several of these reports are poorly written and some are only partially finished. You need to work harder Knox; I will not tolerate work like this being turned in,” William stated and adjusted his glasses. “I want these reports redone and turned back into me by tomorrow, understood?”

Those words irritated Ronald greatly. Normally he wouldn’t say anything, that way he wouldn’t get in anymore trouble. But this time, something inside him snapped and he spoke up.

“Boss, trust me, th’ one thing I’m _not_ doin’ is slackin’. I’ve go’ a hell o’ a lot goin’ on, an’ a good part of it I can’ talk abou’ without gettin’ inta trouble- “

 _That_ , was very true. If he told anyone about the blackmailing, Grell would spread certain pictures across the Dispatch… and if he refused, the crimson Reaper would do the same thing. The poor ginger was very screwed.

_If only William would show a lil’ understandin’… he’s supposed ta see through bullshit… ‘andsome bloke, but real cold…_

Ronald could only hope that William would see through this and help him. The ginger desperately needed someone to help and support him. This would undoubtedly break the ginger if things continued the way they were going.

William frowned at Ronald’s words. He was in trouble? Just what had he gotten himself into this time? No, it didn’t matter. Ronald still didn’t do his work and had been slacking off. He was sure of it. Whatever he was in trouble with needed to be dealt with during his personal time, not during work hours.

“Regardless of that Knox, you still should be putting more effort into your work. I will not have you slacking off or turning in subpar work anymore. Whatever personal issue you have going on, deal with it on your own time,” William replied coldly.

Ronald’s eyes widened. Didn’t he get it?!

“I told ya, I’m not slackin’ off! Why th’ fuck aren’ ya listenin’? Don’t ya even believe me?!” Hid tone was irritated, bordering on angry. On any other day, he would never speak to William in this manner. But today was pushing him over the edge and it was far too late to go back.

“Mr. Knox! Do not speak to me in such a manner! I am your boss and it is highly inappropriate. I don’t know what kind of trouble you are in, but you need to get out of it and focus on your assigned work.” William was beginning to get very angry at the ginger, how dare he speak like that towards him.

That both upset and angered Ronald. This time, he snapped.

“Like ya think it’s jus’ tha’ simple. Ya know, I don’t know why I even bother tryin’. I don’t even know wha’ I’m doin’ here anymore! Fuck this an’ fuck you!”

Ronald went to the door and opened it. He looked back, eyes shining with unshed tears as he said,” Ya know… I really wish I could forget that I love ya… an’ all o’ this. Why do I even bother ta work hard?”

He then slammed the door shut, then went to Grell and told her, “Fuck tis shi’ with th’ blackmailin’. No more doin’ yer work. Ya can’t hurt me anymore with tha’…”

The crimson reaper grinned as he left and pulled out a set of photographs, then went right to the copier.

“I told you what I would do if you refused, Mustard Seed… and a lady _always_ keeps her word…” Grell laughed to herself as she made the copies.

Once she had finished making several copies, she started passing them out to the other reapers, beginning with Eric and Alan, and explaining why.

Eric and Alan were, needless to say, shocked by what Grell was doing.

\--

Back in William’s office, the stoic reaper was completely shocked when Ronald yelled at him. Never had he seen the young reaper this angry or hurt. Then those words came from Ronald’s mouth… the ginger was in love with him and William had been completely blind to it. He was too shocked to say anything as Ronald stormed out. He remained shocked for a few minutes after the ginger stormed out of his office.

He was brought back to attention when Grell burst into his office. William scowled at the crimson reaper, hating that she always barged in without knocking. “How many times have I told you to knock Sutcliff? What do you want this time?”

Grell grinned at the stoic man. “Oh, don’t worry, darling. I’m not here for your pleasuring… though I wish I could be, nhin…”

She sauntered right up to his desk and said, “A certain lil’ Mustard Seed decided to tell me off a few minutes ago, so I’m doing exactly what I said I would do…”

The crimson reaper tossed a set of photos on the dark-haired reaper’s desk: Ronald, shit-faced drunk, in full makeup, a ballroom dress… and high-heels.

“It didn’t have to come to this… he should have just done what I told him to do, and let me have my fun in peace… now I’ll have to find another junior to shove my work-err, train properly…”

 _And find good blackmail on…_ she thought.

William’s scowl grew when he saw the pictures and heard Grell’s words. “You blackmailed him?” His words were cold as ice. “So, you’re the trouble that has been having a negative effect on Knox’s work.” With one quick motion, he ripped the remaining photos out of Grell’s hands. “You will not be handing anymore of these out. Now get back to work Sutcliff or I will give you so much overtime, you will wish you had never met me,” he growled, ripping the photos up and throwing them away.

“Hm! So cold… and handsome. But that’s. Why. I. Love. YOU!” she said as she gave a toothy grin and sauntered off.

There were more where those came from. She wasn’t stupid enough to keep the originals she had in the stack after all!

\--

Ronald was hard at work, taking one soul after another that was on his list.

_Fuck all this… an’ him. I don’t wanna remember him… or anythin’._

In his anger, he didn’t notice that a set of demons were stalking him… until he was hit in the back of the head.

_Maybe… I can die… an’ forget…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anything happening in Ronald's mind is in italics.

The pack of demons, six in all, were attacking a now-unconscious Ronald, inflicting as many wounds as they could on the defenseless reaper.

“Think we made him suffer enough?” one hissed, momentarily stopping it’s attack on Ronald.

“Yeah-no. Ho about we fuck ‘im?” Another demon suggested.

“Nah… none of us are incubi. No point in fucking the brat,” the leader said. “We’ll just have ourselves a lil’ feast… you, grab his scythe.”

Five of the demons pinned the unconscious reaper down while the other took hold of the lawnmower scythe and looked for the switch to turn it on.

\--

Back at the dispatch, William finished disposing of all the photographs he had taken from Grell. The supervisor did feel guilty for getting so angry with Ronald; had he known that Grell was behind this, he wouldn’t have been as angry or even angry at all. Why hadn’t he just listened to the ginger when he had the chance?

He needed to talk to Ronald and apologize for what had happened. He briefly debated waiting until the ginger returned to speak with him but decided to go find the younger reaper while he was on collections. He headed to the department that handed the assignment of collections and found out where Ronald was supposed to be then left for the location.

As William approached where Ronald should be, he paused when he felt a nearby demonic presence. The bad thing was, it wasn’t just one demon, it was several and it was coming from the direction that Ronald’s collection was in. He immediately ran towards the presence and came upon the scene of five demons pinning a very injured and unconscious Ronald on the ground while another demon was trying to turn Ronald’s lawnmower scythe on.

William glared dangerously at the demons and summoned his scythe. He shot his scythe out at the demon near Ronald’s scythe and impaled it through the throat, killing it instantly.

The remaining demons snarled at the sudden attack then let go of Ronald and attacked William.

William retracted his scythe and fought the demons that charged after him. He quickly took care of four of them rather quickly and now had to deal with the leader.

The leader faced Williams with a nasty grin on his face. “That lil’ one’s gonna be dead soon anyway, Reaper; we made sure of that. If we don’t get him as a meal, other demons will soon enough.”

Ronald’s breathing was slowing, and his face was growing pale from the blood loss. He wouldn’t survive much longer without medical attention.

William snarled. “I will make sure that he doesn’t die you demon scum,” he growled and stabbed the demon through the chest with his scythe before it had a chance to react. Once he was sure the demon was dead, he sent his scythe away and rushed to Ronald’s side. He carefully picked up the ginger and opened a portal to the hospital in the reaper realm and rushed through.

Ronald’s breathing got increasingly slower until it was extremely shallow... as though he might die in the next instant.

Once the duo arrived, one of the doctors, a woman that transferred from America, rushed up to them.

“What the hell happened here?! Never mind, I can see it, clear as day. Rogerson, get a stretcher! Jackson, get your team together. OR, stat! This boy’s going to die if we don’t hurry! Spears, I’ll get word to you as soon as we can. Stay if you want.”

The stretcher was brought, and Ronald was put on it. On the way to the OR, he stopped breathing.

“Crash cart! Bring me that oxygen…” could be heard clearly but faintly as the doctors rushed to get Ronald to the OR.

Everything happened so quickly that William didn’t fully realize Ronald had been taken from his arms and was now being rushed to the OR. Now, he felt even more guilty for yelling at Ronald, thinking that if that conversation had gone differently, maybe Ronald would be ok and not at risk of dying. He hoped they would be able to save Ronald so he could apologize.

“You better survive Ronald…” William muttered.

\--

A few hours later, the doctor came back out to see William, her face grim.

“Spears. That boy you brought in… well, there’s been some complications. He had severe wounds to the chest and abdomen… as well as a concussion to the back of the head, as well as poison in the wounds. During surgery, his heart stopped a few times. On the last one… we thought we had lost him. He’s patched up as best we could, and he was admitted to a private room. But… he is in a coma. It’s up to him, but there is a chance he might not wake up. If you want to see him, go ahead. Talking to him might help…”

William had been pacing around nervously when the doctor approached him. “He is in a coma?” he asked. “I would like to see him. Take me to his room.”

“Of course, right this way.” The doctor led William through the corridors into a private room. Inside, Ronald lay perfectly still, hooked up to oxygen and life support. He looked very pale… and even though he was indeed comatose, he seemed very sad and hurt.

“I’ll leave you in here. Anything happens, you call for the nurse.”

William only managed a nod when he heard the doctor speak. He couldn’t believe the state that Ronald laid in, even if the proof was right in front of him. He felt a pang of guilt and sadness when he looked at the comatose reaper. After a moment, he sat in a chair next to the bed. At first, he had no idea what to say, what he _should_ say. Finally, he spoke, “Ronald… I am so sorry. I should’ve listened to you. Maybe this could’ve been avoided…” He reached over and took one of Ronald’s hands gently.

“Please wake up Ronald. Please, I promise that I’ll do whatever I can to make this up to you. Just… please wake up…”

The ginger remained still, almost as still as death. He gave no indication that he heard. Though inside his mind, a conversation was occurring between two versions of himself.

_“Wha… where’m I?”_ The first version of Ronald asked.

A voice could be heard.

_“Yer gonna be fine. But… not me,”_ the other Ronald spoke.

_“What do ya mean?”_

_“I’m leavin’… at least fer a while. May be gone fer good. I’ve had ‘nough. Nobody wants me here… or needs me. Fuck ‘em all.”_

_“Jus’… who am I? Or you?”_

_“Don’t worry ‘bout tha’. Not now, an’ no fer a while. G’bye…”_ With that the second version of Ronald faded away.

\--

Several days passed, almost a month.

The ginger had three close calls, when his breathing and heart had stopped. The third time, the American doctor, Caroline Lansbury, was telling Mr. Spears that Ronald had died when his heart had started again, to her relief.

William had visited Ronald everyday in the hospital, hoping that he would finally wake up. When he found out that Grell still had the original photographs, he made sure that she paid for it and destroyed all the originals. Unfortunately, the pictures had already been passed to half the dispatch. Needless to say, the confrontation that resulted took her a few days to recover from.

Through it all, the boy remained comatose.

One day, a full month later, that changed.

William was again in Ronald’s room talking to him. He informed him about how things were going at dispatch and how he had made Grell pay for what she’d done. He sighed and gently brushed a hair from the boy’s face. “Ronald… I wish you would wake up, it worries me that you haven’t yet.”

While Ronald remained still, inside his head he heard William like had many times before. He didn’t know if it was just him, but the voice sounded sad.

_Hm? Who is this guy tha’ keeps comin’? Where am I anyway…? Am I dead?_

There was a pause.

_Only one way ta find out… but… wherever I am, feels nice… should I stay or go to tha’ voice…?_

He sighed and decided. He began to push, swimming away from where he was. As he did, his head started to hurt. His chest, his head…

_I dunno about this. Hurts… maybe I should go back…_

William spoke once again, a single tear falling down his face. He squeezed Ronald’s hand. “Please come back Ronald, we need you. I need you.”

Those words echoed in Ronald’s mind.

_“…we need you. I need you…”_

Just as he was starting to turn back, he heard those words.

_Okay, this is really gonna hurt… but I bet this guy’s hurting more._

He gathered up his strength and continued pushing forward. As he though, it did hurt more, all over.

_Lesee if I can move m’fingers…_

So, he tried to squeeze back, even as he continued forward.

William noticed Ronald’s hand moved a little while he held it. His eyes widened, was he trying to wake up? He immediately called for a nurse then turned back to the ginger reaper. “Ronald, please wake up.”

After a few moments, the ginger’s eyes slowly opened, even as he groaned. He couldn’t see well, so it took some time to focus on whoever it was that spoke.

“Where… Where’m I?”

William couldn’t believe it, but he was so happy. The ginger had finally woken up. “Ronald, you’re awake… How are you feeling?”

The reaper looked at him blankly. If there were any words to explain the look… it would be as though he were looking at a stranger.

“…hurts like fuckin’ hell. ‘xcuse me but… where am I, an’ who are you?”


	3. Chapter 3

William’s heart broke when he heard Ronald’s words. “You don’t remember me? Do you remember anything about what happened?”

“Nope, nothin’. I don’ even know who I am. I jus’ remember hearin’ someone who sounded like he was abou’ ta cry. Who’s this Ronald person?” He asked, sounding confused.

He didn’t mention the guy he had spoke to in the darkness… the one who had left.

Another tear ran down William’s cheek. “You are Ronald. You’ve been in a coma for the past month because you were attacked by a group of demons while out on a collection.”

“Demons…? ‘splains why I feel like crap…” He looked up and saw tears in the other man’s eyes.

_Am I shakin’ or is he?_

“So, wha’ else happened? I faintly r’member hearin’ ya while in this… coma. Wha’s wrong?”

William took a deep breath before speaking again. It would do no good to break down in front of Ronald while he was in this confused state.

“You really can’t remember anything… before you were attacked, we got into an argument when you ran off… I wish we had never fought.”

“Huh? Ya’d think I’d r’member getting’ inta an argument with a handsome bloke like ya.”

Ronald hadn’t meant for that to slip out. Apparently, he didn’t have a filter. Though, it didn’t slip by him that William had blushed at the compliment.

“Do ya blame yerself jus’ because I go’ attacked and pu’ in a coma? Dontcha think that’d be my fault?”

William cleared his throat and tried to make the blush on his face go away. “Well, I was the one who made you so upset that you ran off. If I had believed what you told me, this would not have happened.”

“Sorry… can’ r’member anythin’… hey… I migh’ be oversteppin’ stuff, bu’… c’mere. Ya look like ya need this…”

He tried to sit up, moving very slowly. Then, as soon as he was able to, Ronald held this dark stranger close.

William was a bit surprised by the hug from the ginger but carefully hugged him back. More tears fell from his face. “I am so sorry Ronald. Sorry for everything.”

“Wish I could- “

Ronald had been about to say that he wished he could remember, but something stopped him.

_“Ya know… I really wish I could forget that I love ya…”_

\--

Outside, the doctor waited. She knew when to come in, and when not to… and this was the latter.

She remembered the last time that Ronald’s heart had stopped. She had the team call the code, then walked to see William.

_Flashback_

_“I’m sorry, Mr. Spears… at 4:00 P.M. this afternoon, Ronald Knox passed away…”_

_William’s heart had broken when he heard that Ronald had died. “No! He can’t be dead…” Tears were threating to spill over and his guilt was at an all-time high._

_That was when a nurse rushed up to them._

_“W-wait Ms. Carolina! Mr. Knox’s heart started again on its own. He’s alive.”_

_William was extremely relieved to hear this. “Oh, thank the gods…”_

_“My words exactly! How is he?” Dr. Carolina asked._

_“Still comatose…” the nurse replied._

_“All right then… we’ll get back to work. Mr. Spears… I would hate to say this, but there’s a possibility he might be brain dead… if he doesn’t wake up soon, he never will…”_

_William bit his lip. “I hope that is not the case.”_

_“So do I, Mr. Spears… so do I.”_

_End Flashback_

\--

Back in the room, Ronald thought he felt shaking as he held the man close.

“Hey… you ok? What’s up?

William shook his head and continued to hold the ginger close. “I was just remembering something that the nurse told me a couple weeks ago.”

“Oh…”

That was when Carolina coughed slightly, her throat going dry. Ronald looked up and asked. “Um, who’re you all?”

“I see you’re awake, Mr. Knox. How are you? How much do you remember?” she asked

The ginger was extremely confused. “Um, who’s Mr. Knox? This guy says I’m someone named Ronald, but I dunno now- “

William let go of Ronald. “Your full name is Ronald Knox. This is Dr. Carolina Lansbury, she’s one of the doctors who have been looking over you.”

“This isn’t good. From what I am hearing, he’s got total amnesia. I shouldn’t be surprised, considering he nearly died… and the last time, he was clinically dead for a few minutes.” She paused for a moment. “But, give it time. Your memory should come back, gradually.”

“an’ if it doesn’?”

“Then you will have to start another life over again, won’t you?”

Ronald unconsciously pouted in a rather cute way.

“Oh relax… you should be fine. In a few days, if he’s ambulatory, we can release him. But, come to think about it… I don’t want him on his own for a while…. So, unless there are fitting living arrangements, he’ll have to stay here indefinitely- “

“He can stay with me,” William interrupted. He didn’t want Ronald to have to stay here until he got his memory back, if he ever did.

“Good, now for the time being, I insist on examining Ronald, and check on the extent of the damage. I’ll call you when he’s ready to have visitors… besides yourself of course. And in your case, I’ll see you later.”

William nodded and stood up. “Very well, please let me know when I can come back. I will see you later, Ronald,” he said and left so Dr. Lansbury could examine Ronald. He decided to head back to the office to get some work done.

\--

Later, Grell was at her desk, chained to it by mounds of paperwork. Two weeks ago, she and another had gone to William’s office, but before she could burst in, she found it locked and odd sounds from coming from within… ones that made them shake their heads and leave.

_There’s nothing I know of that would make Will cry… so that can’t have been him, could it?_

Now, she went towards his office to drop off a stack… only to find it locked again, and the same sounds.

“Will? Is that you in there?”

William had been unable to focus on his work when he got back. Holding back his emotions at the hospital had been too much for him and he began to cry softly. This was far from the first time he’d cried in his locked office since this had all happened.

He heard knocking on his door and looked up, scowling when he heard a certain redhead’s voice. “Go away, Grell.”

Grell sighed. “Fine, fine… I’ll leave the papers in a box. How’s Ronnie – “

She was on very thin Ice, so she muttered a “never mind” before putting the papers in the box and walking off.

_What could have happened to make William cry?_

Once Grell was gone, William tried to compose himself with little success. He was glad that Ronald was awake, but he hoped for the ginger to regain his memories.

\--

Grell went right to Alan and Eric.

“You’re not going to believe this… but… I came from Will’s office just now. Those sounds we’ve been hearing? Crying? They’re from hi – “

Irritated, Alan hit Grell with a glove

“Ow!”

“Shut up, Grell,” Alan snapped. “It’s thanks to your stunts that Ronald’s in a coma at the hospital!”

After Grell had left, Alan got up and went to the break room to get a drink and a snack to calm himself down. When he arrived, he found William making tea.

“Hello, Sir. Are you all right? How is Ronald?” he asked.

William turned to look at Alan. “I am fine Alan. Thank you for your concern. Ronald is doing better, he has woken up from his coma. The doctor is checking on him and will let me know when he can have visitors other than me.”

The younger brunet saw the older man’s eyes were puffy and red but chose not to comment.

“That’s wonderful! I’m so glad he’s awake! Any idea when he will be back to work? Though… he might not want to just yet, with Sutcliff’s little photo spreading thing earlier. So irresponsible!”

“I’m honestly not sure. It won’t be for a while though. He woke up with amnesia and can’t remember anything,” William told Alan.

Alan paled, then was furious all over again.

“I’m going to put Grell in the hospital for this! It’s all her fault this happened! Ronald with amnesia…”

He paled a little further, never a good sign.

“Alan, don’t stress yourself,” William said, worried about how pale the man had become. He didn’t want the Thorns to act up and hurt Alan even more. “Are you all right?"

Alan took a few deeps breaths to calm down. “I’m… I’m fine. Grell just makes me so angry. She nearly got Ronald killed with her stunt… and now this. Damn her to Hell!”

He was definitely furious, the anger growing as he spoke… then winced, his wrists prickling and pricking.

“Alan, listen to me. I know you are angry with Grell, believe me, I am furious with her, but you have to calm down or you’ll trigger an attack.”

Alan gulped, then took some more deeps breaths. After a few moments, the prickling subsided.

“Th-thank you… William, you might want to splash your face with water before you leave the room. Your eyes…” He shook his head, mentally cursing at himself.

“I want to ask you something, and you know I won’t tell anyone. You’ve been very upset since all this… do you love Ronald?”

William had begun to do what Alan said and splashed some water on his face when he heard the question. He was silent for a few moments while he dried his face with a paper towel. “Yes, I do.”

“I thought so… if you don’t mind my asking, when did you realize it? For me, about Eric, it was… before I realized it, it snuck up on me. Though, someone said it was a sudden thing for them…”

William took a breath and answered. “I realize it too late. I only realized my feelings for him after he had been attacked. Now he has amnesia and doesn’t remember anything.”

Alan thought he heard a shift in his friend’s tone. He walked up to the older man and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a comforting hug.

“It’ll be ok, William. There have been cases of amnesiacs who regain their memory… it’ll take time, but there’s hope. I think you should know… but before this happened, he was deeply in love with you.”

William let out a sigh and hugged Alan back. “I know he was. The last thing he told me before all this happened was that he wished he could forget that he loved me…”

Alan frowned. “What a sad thing to say… the worst thing to part with. Now, he got his wish… and we’re all paying for it, especially you.”

He thought for a moment. “Maybe…familiar things would help… and somehow, try to reach the part that made that wish, to change his mind… if anyone can do it, it’ll be you.”

“You really think I can help him get his memory back?” William asked.

Alan had only one word as his answer. “Definitely.”

He then remembered. “You likely didn’t know this but Ronald has a pet rabbit named Serah. You’ll find her at his place. Ronald lets her run free when he’s not home, but she does have a cage. Cute little thing… I think she might be able to help get Ronald’s memory back. I've been checking on her, making sure she gets fed.”

William was surprised to hear Ronald had a pet, especially a bunny. “Serah huh?”

Alan nodded. “She’s an albino bunny. She likes most people, except for Grell. She’ll run from her.”

William thought for a moment. “Well, Ronald is going to be staying with me when he gets out of the hospital. So, I can bring Serah over to stay with us. Thank you for telling me Alan.”

“You’re welcome. You’re my dear friend, Will. I’ll be there to help you however I can.”

The two parted ways and William headed to Ronald’s flat to retrieve Serah.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a couple notes, there is smut in this chapter. Also, William cannot understand Serah.

In a small flat, a little albino bunny was running free, doing as she pleased. Of course, she had been making a bit of a mess. But… she felt sad. That guy she had been living with… she hadn’t seen him in a month.

‘Did he go away for good, like my old human did?!’ the little bunny wondered to herself.

The bunny gave a sad little chittering sound, as she didn’t like the thought of that at all. She then heard the sound of the door being unlocked and her ears perked up.

‘Is that him? Did he come back? It better not be that scary, red one…’

\--

William had gotten the keys to Ronald’s apartment from Alan and headed over so he could pick up Serah. He unlocked the door and went inside. “Now, where is she?” he muttered to himself and looked around for the small albino rabbit.

‘Whose voice is that? I don’t remember that guy…’ Serah peeked around a corner, then hopped over to the tall, dark man and sniffed him. “He’s got my green-eyes guy’s scent on him, but it’s not him. He doesn’t smell like a bad one!’ She then chittered at William in a friendly way.

William heard the chittering and looked down. He smiled a little when he saw the rabbit, she was very cute. “There you are, Serah,” he said and knelt down so he could pet her. Her fur was softer than he imagined it would be.

Serah nuzzled into the tall guy’s hand then hopped closer to him, chittering excitedly. ‘Aww, you’re so nice! How do you know my name? Where’s my housemate? Is he that “dead” thing too?! I miss him…’

He chuckled. “How cute,” he said and continued to pet her. “You’re going to come stay with me until your owner gets better.”

‘He’s not “dead”? What happened to him?!’

Serah nuzzled his hand again, then hopped off towards her food, then her cage, hoping that the nice man would understand and follow.

William watched Serah hop off and followed her. “Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember anything. I hope that you will be able to help jog his memory a little…”

That got a shocked then sad chitter out, before it became a cheerful one. ‘What?! He doesn’t even remember me?! Oh no… but we’ll fix that! We’ll help him remember again, right? You and me, nice guy!’

She then hopped off long enough to go to her cage, grab something and then bring it back to the nice guy. It was a plushie Ronald doll, hand-made by the scary red-thing.

‘I think you need this more than I do right now…’ she chittered and nudged it to him.

William watched her hop to her cage and return with the doll. “Aw, how cute,” he said and picked up the doll.

‘It is! You look like you need it more than I do, nice guy, so you take it for now! Oh! Those cloth things you all wear! C’mon!’

She hopped towards Ronald’s room, managed to nudge it open, then hopped to the closet and dresser. William followed her, knowing that he would need to get clothes for Ronald so that he’d have something to wear once he was released.

Serah hopped to the closet and lightly hit her head on the door then did the same to the dresser but that wasn’t as lightly. This caused a book that was at the edge of the dresser to fall down and hit her on the head.

‘Owww! That hurts! Stupid book!’

“Hey, are you ok?” he asked and knelt down to make sure she was ok. He then picked up the book which had opened. “What’s this?”

It was a journal, in Ronald’s handwriting. After a few pages, William’s name came up.

_December 24 th_

_William didn’t eat…again… an’ he collapsed again. Tha’ worries me, for more than one reason. Gods help me, but…I’ve fallen in love with the bloke. I haven’t even been on the datin’ scene anywhere near as much anymore… which I only do as a smokescreen o’ sorts. I mean, sure I’ll date ‘em to make them laugh, but, I’ll never go further than tha’ with the birds._

_From now on, startin’ when he gets back, I’m gonna change things._

_No more smokescreen datin’. I’m gonna go in early, an’ bring breakfast, even lunch for him!_

_I dunno if I’ve got a chance in Hell wit’ him but damn it, I care about ‘im an’ I don’t want him to do this again._

_\--_

_January 1 st_

_It’s a new year, an’ hopefully, it’ll be a great one._

_I’ve been noticin’ Will’s eatin’ habits… when he does eat. I kinda had to ask someone for advice on foods he likes, an’ after I swore ‘im ta secrecy, he gave me a helpin’ hand with the info… an’ at times, he’d distract Will while I’d sneak in with the grub an’ tea. Thanks Alan, yer a real sport!_

_\--_

_January 5 th_

_Damn that Senior… got me drunk, real bad. Did that loony slip somethin’ inta m’drink?  Barely r’member bein’ put inta makeup an’ some kinda dress… an’ bein’ told ta pose._

_T’day, she wanted me ta take all her work while she went shoppin’ and seein’ the pet demon. I told her ta sod off, an’ that’s when she pulled out the photos. Said if I refused, she’d spread ‘em. I threatened to tell Will, jus’ ta be told she’d spread the photos if I did._

_I’m so screwed._

_\--_

_April 10 th_

_I got yelled at by Will t’day. Thanks ta Senior’s stunts, my paperwork’s sufferin’. I tried ta hint ta him that somethin’ was wrong, but… Will’s Will…_

_I got him some lunch, ‘cause I noticed he forgot... again._

_I’m not gonna tell him just yet who’s givin’ him th’ food… he’ll jus’ treat me like he does ol’ man Sutcliff, especially if I tell him why._

_\--_

_June 15 th_

_I got yelled a more t’day… same ol’ reason. Though, th’ reason I was a lil’ late was b’cause I was getting’ Will a Death Day present… with no name signin’ of course. I got him an engraved pen an’ stationary… as well as a crystal pigeon. M’thinks he loved them._

_\--_

_June 20 th_

_This hurts… one’d think tha’ time would make m’feelings get less or go away, but it ain’t. I love William even more… even though he don’t know it. I got him what I found is his favorite tea an’ a healthy sandwich wrap._

_I jus’ might tell him tomorrow. Ta hell with this secretin’ around._

_\--_

The entries in the journal stopped there.

William hadn’t meant the read all the entries, though he shouldn’t have read them at all. What he read had brought tears to his eyes. He had been completely blind to Ronald’s struggles these past few months and did nothing to help the situation. If anything, he made things even harder on the blond which pushed him past the breaking point.

It shocked him to learn that Ronald was the one who’d been bringing him food and tea, as well as the one who’d given him the beautiful gift.

“I’m so sorry Ronald… I’m a horrible person,” he whispered, the tears flowing freely at this point.

Serah looked up at him, a little puzzled to see him crying while reading the book.

‘Are you ok? Why is your face leaking?’ She went up to his feet and nuzzled against his leg.

Suddenly, William heard Ronald’s last words flash through his mind.

_…fuck this an’ fuck you! Ya know… I really wish I could forget that I love you… an’ all this. Why do I bother ta work hard?_

These words made more tears fall. “I should have done something, realized that you were trying to tell me what was going on. I’m so sorry…”

Serah gave a little squeak-like chitter at him.

‘Hey, it’s gonna be ok! All we gotta do is fix his memory an’ everything’ll be ok!’

\--

Back at dispatch.

After Eric had heard from Alan about Ronald’s state, the Scot went straight to Grell’s office and when he went in, he locked the door. Within seconds, there was a lot of hitting and screaming.

After a few minutes, Eric came back out and said to a passing reaper, “Ye better ge’ the medics in there. Th’ bastard’s gonna need ‘em.”

He then went back to his and Alan’s office as medics made their way to Grell’s office. He had bloody knuckles, a split lip and some spots on his face that were going to bruise. On top of that, there was a fractured lens in his glasses. “I’m back, love.”

Alan looked up from his paperwork and was shocked by the sight in front of him. “What the hell happened?!” He went over to Eric immediately and began to look over his injuries.

“Ah went tae the’ redheaded bastard an’ gave ‘im what-fer. Tha’ loon’s shite put m’ drinkin’ mate in th’ hospital an’ cost ‘im his memory… _an’_ nearly made ye hav’ an attack. O’course Ah’m goin’ tae say somethin’ abou’ tha’, m’ wee flower.”

Alan blushed a little and huffed. He was still very angry with the redhead because of all this. “Well she does deserve it since all of this was caused by her.” He then went to his desk and retrieved a first aid kit. “Sit down so I can patch up your wounds.”

“Gladly, love. Wha’ ah got is nothin’ compared tae ‘im.”

Eric gladly sat down and took off his coat so Alan could tend to him properly. If he were honest, he was surprised Alan didn’t lay into him for attacking Grell. “Where’s th’ stick in th- err, I mean, where’s Spears?”

“I believe he’s checking with the doctor on Ronald’s condition,” he said as he began to tend to Eric’s wounds.

“Ah. Wha’ abou’ the wee bunny rabbit of Ron’s? She doin’ a’rite?”

Alan nodded. “she’s doing well. I’ve been going to check on her and making sure she has food and water.”

“Is she goin’ tae have tae git a new home? Wha’ with Ronnie in this shape… poor bun.”

“Well, William told me that Ronald was going to stay with him when he gets out of the hospital. I gave him the spare key to Ronald's apartment so she can stay with them.” He quickly finished patching up Eric’s wounds; luckily, they weren’t very bad. “There.”

“Tha’s a relief. Maybe th’ bun will help git ‘is memory back.” He then got up and faced Alan. “Lemme thank ye in m’own way, m’light.”

With that, he carefully held Alan close, mindful of his injuries, and capture his lips in a tender, heated rush.

Alan’s eyes widened at the sudden kiss. He blushed but eagerly kissed back, wrapping his arms around Eric in the process.

The Scotsman let his lip slide across Alan’s, trying to coax his mouth and tongue into a sensuous dance. His larger hands slid across the lithe body, one going to play with the back of his neck and brown locks, while the other trailed over sensitive spots.

The brunet gasped when he felt those hands trail over some of his more sensitive spots. This allowed Eric’s tongue to move in and deepen the kiss. He pressed himself closer to his lover, momentarily forgetting that they were at work.

“Mmm… m’light…m’wee flower… I luv ye…” He murmured this as he kissed Alan’s cheeks, the corner of his mouth, a bit of skin behind his ear, then down his neck.

“I love you too Eric…” Alan breathed. He let out soft moans at the little kisses.

Eric slowly moved the hand at Alan’s neck to undo the bolo tie, then unbuttoned his shirt a little, suckling on the Adam’s apple and parts of his neck.

Alan gasped and titled his head back. He let out a louder moan, not wanting this to stop. Eric knew exactly what to do to drive him crazy.

“Mmm… ya feel… an’ taste sae good… how abou’ I lock tha’ door an’ get ourselves comfy?” Eric asked, slowly unbuttoning the shirt, kissing and suckling more skin as it was exposed.

Alan shuddered as Eric kissed more of his skin. He remembered where they were when Eric asked about locking the door. Even though they shouldn’t be doing this here, Alan did not want it to stop no matter what. “Yes… you should.”

Eric smiled against the skin and let go long enough to close and lock the door. He then returned to Alan, wrapped his arms around the smaller man and started unbuttoning the shirt again, kissing and suckling on the neck, then parts of his chest.

Alan whimpered a little when the teasing kisses left his skin but was soon moaning again when Eric returned and resumed the treatment. He was already getting hard from the attention.

The Scotsman guided Alan slowly back to the couch, giving little licks as he went back up the neck, making sure to suck on the weakest spots. When he reached those soft lips, he captured them in a rush of passion, ravaging them.

Alan tried not to be too loud with his moans. He didn’t want them to be discovered but it was difficult with all the attention his body was receiving from Eric.

The blonde trailed a hand slowly to Alan’s hip, then slid to his crotch, massaging the bulge that he found there slowly but firmly.

“Sae beautiful…” Eric whispered against those lips and murmured something in Gaelic in a husky tone before using his tongue to caress the brunet’s.

Alan moaned and gripped Eric’s shoulders. He had to resist the urge to buck his hips into Eric’s hand as he returned the kiss with the same amount of fervor.

Eric massaged the bulge some more, then gently laid Alan onto the couch before taking the shirt off completely and unzipping the younger’s pants. He slipped the hand in and began stroking the member while latching onto one of the nipples.

The brunet let out a shrill moan and arched his back. “E-Eric!” He buried one his hands in the soft blond hair.

The blonde gave a smirk against his skin and kept at the nipple until it was erect, then switched to the other one. The moan made him groan, as the sound went straight to his own member. He let a thumb tease the slit in Alan’s own cock for a moment before resuming the stroking.

Alan’s eyes widened and his clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent a loud moan from escaping him. His fingers tightened slightly in the Scot’s hair as the teasing continued.

Eric let out a little moan of his own and carefully removed Alan’s pants and trousers before sitting up and removing his own clothing. Once those were out of the way, he resumed work on the nipple and member until the former was erect. Only then did he start little kisses, sucks and licks up his chest to the neck.

Alan pulled Eric up into a deep kiss, needing to do something to muffle the moans trying to escape from himself.

After a few moment of this, Eric went and got a bottle of lube from his pocket. He put some on his fingers and started to prep Alan.

Just the, there was a knock on the door.

“Mr. Slingby? Mr. Humphries? Are either of you there? Sutcliff’s been taken to the hospital. We’ll keep you informed.”

The footsteps then went away.

Alan had been startled when he heard the knock. He thought for sure that they were going to be caught. He would never live it down if that happened. Once he heard the footsteps go away, he said, “That was close…”

“Aye… now… where were we?” Eric replied, the continued the prepping, being as gentle as he could. One finger, then two, crisscrossing as he went. After a moment, he curled his fingers, looking for a very specific spot.

Alan moaned as he was prepped. He spread his legs wider and pressed down on the fingers as he became more comfortable with the stretching. He suddenly let out a loud moan when he felt Eric’s fingers brush against his sweet spot. “T-there!”

“Ah, m’Alan… those sounds… sae beautiful… as much as ye are…” He murmured, continuing to make contact with that spot deep inside his lover.

He blushed and continued to let out moans as that spot was teased. “Eric please… I need you so badly.”

After a couple more strokes on the prostate, Eric removed his fingers, lubing his own cock before lining it up. He kissed Alan passionately before entering him.

Alan whimpered when he felt Eric’s fingers leave him. He kissed Eric back and moaned into the kiss when he felt Eric enter him. He wrapped his legs around the other’s waist.

The Scotsman moaned in pleasure, it always felt amazing inside the brunet. “Sae good… hot an’ tight… like ye were made fer me…” He murmured and started thrusting once he gave Alan enough time to adjust.

Alan wrapped his arms around Eric’s neck as he began thrusting. He moaned and dug his nails into the Scot’s back. “I-I love you Eric,” he moaned.

“I love ye too… m’beautiful flower… m’precious light… I’ll love ye forever…”

Eric suckled on his neck, making sure to linger on the Adam’s apple and the spots that were especially sensitive. One hand played with a nipple for a bit, then caressed as much of him as he could reach before moving slowly, teasingly, to Alan’s neglected member.

Alan arched his back and tried to stifle a loud moan which only grew louder when Eric began to tease his sensitive spots. He already felt close to release.

Eric smirked and let off the nipples, opting to kiss his lover.

Alan kissed back passionately and again tangled a hand in the blond hair, giving it a light tug.

Eric himself was close… very close. He kissed down Alan’s neck, then sucked on a spot behind his ear.

“E-Eric! I’m s-so c-close!” Alan moaned and pushed down on Eric’s cock to push him in deeper.

“Mmm… me t-too…” The Scotsman thrust as deeply as he could, pumping Alan’s cock and then slid his lips across his lover’s jaw until they reached his mouth, pouring his love into it.

It didn’t take long for Alan to release with a cry of pleasure. Eric was right behind him, shuddering as he came deep inside Alan. “Mmm… gods, tha’ was…incredible. I love ye so much… m’thinks tha’ we need a lil’ nap after tha’…”

\--

Serah looked up at the nice, dark man. As far as she knew, she hadn’t left her mate’s place yet.

‘Are you ok, nice man? Are you ok now? Is your face still leaking?’

William had stopped crying but still felt horrible about everything. He wished he had recognized the signs Ronald had been trying to give him before all this happened. He looked at the rabbit when he heard her chittering. He picked her up and pet her. “I’m sorry little one. I promise you’ll see your owner soon.”

Serah stood on her back legs and nuzzled his face, giving him bunny kisses.

This made William smile a little. “You are so cute.”

‘It’ll be ok! You just wait and see!’

\--

Later that day, the doctor called with the notice that Ronald’s examination was complete as well as the fact that a second reaper was hospitalized and that it was Sutcliff, surprisingly. He had been told how she had been attacked by Slingby, though William was not angry like normal. Sutcliff had really gone too far this time. He thanked the doctor for calling him and finished gathering what he needed from Ronald’s apartment. He took everything, including Serah to his apartment before heading to the hospital to pick up Ronald.


	5. Chapter 5

At the hospital, Dr. Lansbury awaited Spears and once she heard of him arriving, she went out to greet him. “Ah, spears. Good. Before you see Ronald, I wanted to talk to you about Sutcliff. He was attacked on Dispatch grounds by another reaper. His injuries are extensive, but thankfully, very few of them are scythe-related.”

William was a bit surprised to hear that Sutcliff had been attacked but he felt no remorse for what had happened to the red-head. She deserved it for all the trouble she had caused. “Who attacked Sutcliff?” He asked.

“Around the time it happened, the last person seen with him was Eric Slingby. One of the people who found Sutcliff said that it was Slingby who went into her office, caused a lot of noise, and when he came out, he informed the witness that medics would be needed,” she explained.

Ah, so Slingby was the one. That made sense considering his earlier conversation with Alan. “Thank you for informing me. I will deal with that situation later. How long will Sutcliff remain here?”

“She’ll be out for a week, then I recommend light duty only for an additional week. Now, I suppose you’ll be wanting to go see Knox.”

William nodded. “Yes, I would like to see him.”

“Then follow me.”

\--

Ronald was sitting in his room. This time he was sitting up, although he looked positively bored.

“…’ey Doc! Oh, there ya are… th’ doc said yer name. Spears, righ’?” He asked.

William smiled a little when he saw the ginger. He already looked a lot better than he had before. “Hello Ronald. Yes, that’s my last name, but you can just call me William.”

“Okay… William. I like th’ sound of tha’.”

“I am going to get the discharge paperwork, I will be back, Dr. Lansbury said then left.

Ronald closely looked at the man. He’d been given a pair of glasses, basic starter frames, until he could get his normal ones replaced. “Hey, ya ok? Ya look like you’ve been cryin’.”

“Yes… I’m fine. How are your feeling?” He asked.

“Better, bu’ I’m fuckin’ bored! I may no’ r’member anythin’, bu’ I already know I hate hospitals,” he huffed.

This caused William to chuckle. That definitely sounded like Ronald. “Have you remembered anything yet?”

“Nope, no’ a thing. Wai’… ugh…”

He gripped his head for a moment.

“Somethin’… abou’ yelling a’ a guy, then stormin’ ou’ and tellin’ off a person in red. Only thing I clearly remember is sayin’, ‘fuck this an’ fuck you’.”

William frowned at the words. “Those were a few of the last words that you told me before you stormed off. The person in red you told off is Grell Sutcliff, your mentor.”

Ronald frowned. He didn’t see how he could have said something like that to this guy. “Tha’ means we don’ ge’ along, huh? I don’ see how, yer a nice bloke.”

“I suppose we didn’t. That’s my fault, I shouldn’t have ignored your problems,” he sighed. “ I’m sorry… I should’ve done something sooner, before all this happened. I will make it up to you, I swear.”

“Sorry, wish I could rem-agh!” He winced, the words from before coming back.

_Ya know, I wish I could forge’ tha’ I love ya… an’ all this._

William was immediately concerned and moved to Ronald’s side. “Ronald? Are you all right?”

“Ugh… every time I mention wantin’ ta r’member… I hear m’self sayin’ abou’ really wantin’ ta forge’…ugh! M’head!”

“What do you hear?” he asked.

“Jus’ these words: ‘Ya know, I really wish tha’ I could forge’ tha’ I love ya… an’ all o’ this… why do I even bother ta work hard?’ I dunno who I must’ve said i’ too…”

William’s frown deepened when heard those words. “Those were the last words you told e before all this happened.”

“Ugh… sorry, bu’ I better no’ try ta r’member. Hur’s my head too much. Plus, I must’ve had a good reason fer forgettin’…”

“It’s ok Ronald. You just need to take things slow. You don’t need to rush to remember everything,” William assured him.

Dr. Lansbury walked back in with the discharge paperwork. “I will need a couple signatures from you, Spears. Then Ronald will be released into your care,” she said.

William took the paperwork and signed the needed spots while Dr. Lansbury removed Ronald’s IV.

Once she was finished she took the paperwork from William. “All right, Mr. Knox. You can leave now with Spears.”

“Swee’! Let’s go!”

\--

Once the two left the hospital, William took Ronald to his flat.

“Wow! This is a nice place! No’ tha’ I remember anythin’ else…”

Serah hopped out from behind the couch.

‘Oh! Oh! There you are! Welcome back!’ She chirped and hopped over to them.

“Well, hello! Wha’ a cutie! She yours, William?” Ronald asked.

“No, she isn’t mine. She’s actually yours. This is Serah, you’re her owner,” William said.

“S-Serah?” Ronald winced as his head started hurting and images came to him.

“Y-yeah… I remember a little abou’ tha’ now. I found her while on a job… can’ remember wha’ kind of job though. Bu’ I think I jus’ reaped her owner or somethin’. Then, when I was abou’ ta leave, she came ou’. Couldn’ leave her behind ta die…”

William nodded and picked her up. “I’m glad that you’re starting to remember her. I think she missed you.”

Ronald tentatively started petting her.

“She’s a lil’ cutie.”

‘Yep, yep! That’s my house-mate! I’ll help you remember. Now we’ll **all** be house-mates! Right?!’ Serah chittered.

William smiled and pet her as well. “I think she’s very happy to see you.”

“Did anyone else miss me…? …Like you?” Ronald asked rather innocently as they pet Serah.

‘Of course, he did! This nice guy’s face was leaking!’

William nodded. “Yes. I missed you a great deal,” he admitted. “I visited you everyday that you were in the hospital. Our other coworkers missed you too.”

Ronald thought he saw something glittering near William’s eye, so he stroked the older man’s cheek with the back of his hand slowly and gently.

The brunet was surprised by the action at first. He looked at Ronald with a tear in his eye. “I’m just glad you’re alive.”

Ronald blushed a bit at that. He decided to change the subject since it was obvious that William was upset.

“Ya go’ anything good ta ea’? I’m fuckin’ hungry! Tha’ hospital food? Blegh. Gimme a break!”

\--

That night, William’s sleep was plagued by nightmares.

_Dr. Lansbury came out to speak to William, her face grim and, in some ways, sad. She spotted William sitting in one of the waiting room chairs and walked up to him._

_“Mr. Spears… I regret to inform you that at 4:00 this afternoon,” she spoke, keeping her voice as quiet as she could, “Ronald Knox passed away…”_

_William’s eyes widened in disbelief. “No… no! He can’t be dead!” He exclaimed, tears filling his eyes._

_“His heart stopped yet again, and we couldn’t revive him this time. I’m so sorry, Mr. Spears. We tried everything he could.”_

_She sounded sad, though trying to be comforting… as though trying to comfort a boss who had just lost an underling._

_This time… there was nobody coming behind her with good news._

_Tears were running down William’s face. “Please tell me that you’re lying,” he pleaded. “Ronald can’t be dead!”_

_“I wish I could, Spears. I’m sorry…” was the doctor’s only reply as she tried to put an arm around him._

_At this point, William began to openly cry. He should’ve listened to Ronald more. He should’ve done something to help him, maybe all of this could’ve been avoided if he had done something._

_Almost as if on cue, a passing nurse and secretary spoke._

_“It’s all your fault! You did this to him!”_

_The secretary bawled, “You killed Ronnie!”_

_“No! I didn’t kill him! I didn’t want him to die!” He cried out, knowing that it was his fault Ronald had run off and gotten attacked by demons._

_“Hmph,” the once-kind doctor said. “You’re as guilty as the demons of doing it. So yes, you killed him.”_

_Another secretary sneered, “You don’t deserve to live!”_

_They all shouted at him over and over, “You killed him! You don’t deserve to live!”_

\--

A very much living Ronald went through the apartment, hearing crying and near screams.

_Wha-? Wha’ the’ fucks goin’ on? Tha’ William?_

Ronald entered the room where the sounds were coming from. There was William, in the grips of some nightmare, shouting and crying.

The ginger didn’t remember much of anything, but he knew he didn’t like to see or hear him like this. It tore at him.

Ronald hurried over to him and grabbed William’s shoulders and began to shake him. “Oi! William, wake up! You’re havin’ a nightmare!”

William woke with a start, tears still running down his face. He looked up at the blurry figure above him. He recognized the orange hair of Ronald. “R-Ronald?”

“Yeah, I’m right here… shh, ya had a nasty nightmare…”

The ginger moved closer to him, stroking his cheeks with the back of his hand and fingers to wipe away the tears.

William nodded and took some deep breaths to calm himself down. “I-I’m sorry…”

“Nah, don’ be. Everybody has nightmares… I think-“ The ginger thought he heard something, which caught him off mid-sentence.

“Wha’d ya say? Wha’s wrong, William?”

“I’m sorry… it’s my fault that you were attacked. I should’ve listened to you… then none of this would have happened,” William said.

“hey now, I can’t blame ya fer somethin’ I don’t even remember…c’mere…”

Ronald held the torn man close to him, going with an impulse he didn’t really understand. He looked into Will’s eyes and his breath caught.

William instinctively wrapped his arms around Ronald, still trying to calm himself down. He looked at Ronald in confusion. “What is it?”

The only thing that Ronald could whisper is, “Beautiful…”

He remained silent for a few moments, staring into those green eyes and leaned in slowly, pressing his lips against William’s.

William was confused when he heard Ronald’s reply. A blush formed on his face when he felt Ronald kiss him. He was hesitant but he kissed Ronald back.

Ronald held the brunet close as he slowly swept his tongue across William’s bottom lip, shyly asking for entrance. He deepened the kiss when he felt William part his lips. His tongue went in and slowly, sensually explored the other man’s mouth, then used it to caress William’s. His hands began to move, almost instinctively. One stroked the back of his neck and played with the fine hairs while the other moved slowly up and down his spine.

William shuddered a bit at the feeling. He let out a small noise when he felt Ronald’s tongue caress his. He brought one hand up an ran it through Ronald’s hair. It was incredibly soft.

That sound triggered an emotion inside the ginger, making him shiver a little. Ronald kept the kiss going for a few moments before laving little kisses and licks along his jaw and down the brunet’s throat, sucking it at certain spots, including the Adam’s apple.

William moaned a bit at the kisses to his neck and tightened his grip on Ronald. “R-Ronald…” he moaned, tilting his head back and giving the ginger better access to his neck.

“Mmm… Will…” Ronald let out a soft moan against the other’s skin. He removed the hand that was trailing his spine long enough to take his own glasses off and put them on the nightstand. Once that was done, he toyed with the top button of William’s night shirt for a moment before popping it open , resuming the kisses and licks to his neck.

Once the young reaper resumed kissing and licking his neck, he couldn’t help but moan again. “Don’t stop…” He ran his hands along Ronald’s sides.

The ginger kissed William deeply while his fingers popped open more buttons of his shirt. He couldn’t help but press his hips as close to the other’s as he could and grind for a moment. He moaned at the friction.

William couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped his lips when Ronald’s hips ground against his. “Fuck…” he breathed.

Ronald pushed William’s shirt off once the all the buttons were undone. “Do ya want ta go further….?” He asked as his hands explored William’s chest.

William blushed a bit and nodded. “I do… I want to have sex with you… I want you to take me…”

Ronald was a bit surprised by this but grinned. “All right.” He kissed him again and pulled at William’s pajama pants and boxers. Once they were removed, he removed his own clothes so he was as bare are William.

“There’s some lube in the nightstand,” William said with a blush.

Ronald reached over to the nightstand drawer and pulled out a small bottle of lube. He poured a generous amount on his fingers and rubbed them at William’s entrance.

William gasped at the feeling and spread his legs a bit wider.

Ronald leaned down and kissed William as he slowly pushed one finger in. It began to sensuously stroke the walls and explore for a few moments.

William groaned into the kiss, the finger didn’t hurt but it did feel unfamiliar.

Ronald moved the finger in and out a few times until he felt loose enough to press in a second one. He began to carefully scissor his fingers to stretch him a bit more.

William did his best to relax as Ronald was preparing him. It slowly began to feel pleasurable and he let out some small moans and gasps. He felt those fingers hit that spot deep inside him which made him let out a cry of pleasure.

Ronald smirked and made sure his fingers brushed against that spot again. “Feel good?”

William moaned again and nodded. “Gods, yes… it feels amazing Ronald… need more…”

Ronald obliged and added a third finger to stretch him more. He wasn’t sure if William had done this before so he wanted to make sure the other was thoroughly prepared before they went further. Soon enough, he asked, “Are ya ready fer me?”

William was a moaning mess at this point and nodded. “Yes… I want you inside Ronald… please…”

Ronald pulled his fingers out carefully and lubed up his cock. He positioned himself at William’s entrance and carefully began to enter him, he stroked the brunet’s cock and kissed him distract him from any pain he might be feeling.

If Ronald hadn’t been kissing him, he would’ve groaned in pain. It did hurt more than he expected but he trusted Ronald not to hurt him. One Ronald was fully inside, they remained in that position for a few moments while William adjusted to the new feeling.

“Y-you can move,” William murmured when he’d gotten used to the feeling.

“Ya sure? I don’t wanna hurt ya.” The last thing Ronald wanted to do was hurt the older man.

William nodded and pulled Ronald down to kiss him.

Ronald kissed back, then started moving, slowly and carefully so he wouldn’t hurt William.

“Mmm… yer so fuckin’… tigh’…” he panted.

William moaned when Ronald began to move. He wrapped his arms around him and dug his nails into the ginger’s back.

The ginger held William close as he moved, seeking out that spot inside William that would make him cry out in pleasure. He pecked William on the lips before moving to kiss his neck, sucking and leaving spots on the pale skin.

William moaned as Ronald kissed his neck and thrust into him. He wrapped his legs around the ginger’s waist to push him in deeper. He then let out a cry of pleasure when Ronald hit his sweet spot. “R-Ronald! There!”

Ronald smirked and angled his thrusts to hit that spot every time. “God you feel amazin’.” He enjoyed hearing the other’s moans as he repeatedly hit that spot.

It wasn’t long before William felt his release building up. “Ronald… c-close…”

Ronald began to stroke William’s cock and picked up his pace. “Then come for me.”

William came hard after a few well aimed thrusts and strokes.

Ronald came right after with a moan. He leaned down and kissed William as they rode out their highs.

“That… that was great…” William panted when they broke the kiss.

“Yeah… It was,” Ronald panted. After a moment he pulled out of William so they could get cleaned up and go back to sleep.

\--

A couple weeks passed since Ronald had been released from the hospital. The ginger hadn’t regained his memory but little bits and pieces would surface every now and then. William had given Eric overtime because of the attack on Grell at the recommendation of the council, though if William had the choice, Eric would not have been punished at all. During the time Ronald had been staying with William, the elder reaper’s feelings for the ginger had grown a lot stronger.

William and Ronald were in the middle of breakfast when someone uninvited had picked the lock and let himself… rather, _herself_ in.

“I’m Here! Oh, my darling, Will~” Grell exclaimed, walking into the dining room.

William glared at the redhead and stood up. “Sutcliff! What are you doing here?!”

“I came to visit my lover, of course. That cracked sod there is just so messed up, he thinks you love him, when you only love me!”

Ronald was about to speak when everything suddenly rushed back to him. Getting way too drunk, with something extra added to his last drink… being blackmailed… getting yelled at by William over it… those last words that had repeated, over and over in his mind, when he tried to remember… actually feeling the blow to his head in the demon attack that happened afterwards, and letting it happen, wanting to only die…

“I… I r’member everythin’… I didn’ figh’ back agains’ those demons… cause I wanted ta die an’ forge’ so much…” Ronald whispered.

“Well, time to get my junior’s head straight, before I pay Slingby a visit… I owe him for attacking me and putting me in the hospital-“

William lunged forward and grabbed Grell by the throat. “You caused all this! You are not going to do anything else to Ronald! Effective immediately, you are no longer his mentor and you will no longer mentor any other junior. I will not allow you to blackmail anyone again. You are going to be brought before the council and face consequences for your actions.”

Grell broke away from William and smirked. “Trust me… this isn’t over. Not by a long shot, darling. You love me, you’re just confused and using him.”

“Ol’ man Sutcliff… yer lyin’. Ya never asked abou’ me or nothin’, and ya though’ tha’ by addin’ Will ta the blackmail, he’d be disgusted by me.”

“Am I now? He doesn’t have a bone of love for you in his body-“

William growled and slapped her. “I do love Ronald. My love for him is genuine; I despise you Sutcliff. I would never use Ronald, unlike you.”

“This isn’t over… either of you,” she said and left.

\--

Grell went to her home, but not for long. She was heartbroken and outright fuming. There was only one thing on her mind… and she knew just the one to get it carried out.

Next stop, Phantomhive Manor.

When she arrived, the Crimson Reaper said to the ditzy maid from before, “I’m here to see the butler, Sebastian Michaelis. I have business with him. Make it snappy!”

She had a few back up plans, if that didn’t bring him there. No demon in their right mind would turn down a contract, especially what she had to offer…

Sebastian came to the door a moment later. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, don’t worry, Sebastian. I’m not here to pester you. I’m here on serious business of my own,” the redhead replied, using no nicknames with him. “Business that you would be _very_ interested in.”

Grell was furious, true, but thinking very clearly about what she wanted… and was about to do.

_Nobody in the Realm wants me or respects me… so fuck them all. I don’t care about the Reapers anymore._

A look of surprise crossed the demon’s face for a brief moment when the reaper didn’t call him by one of those ridiculous nicknames. “Oh? And what would that be? And how do you know that I will help you?”

“It’s a case of mutual interests,” Grell replied. “I know that demons are capable of taking on more than one contract at a time… and I’m seeking one.”

Grell loved her glasses, but push come to shove, and she thought it might, she _would_ desert or even get herself turned, especially now. She was so done with everyone.

Sebastian quirked a brow. “You want to form a contract?” He asked curiously. “This is a first, a reaper coming to a demon to form a contract. And what exactly are you trying to accomplish?”

_Here goes nothing…_

“I want a few reapers dead,” she said bluntly. “Starting with Ronald Knox. I want William T. spears to suffer so much in all ways that he’ll be begging for his own death. I also want Eric Slingby’s head and balls on a silver platter. Alan Humphries… a quick death. I want them all at the London Dispatch painted a very, very pretty red.”

Alan had not harmed her as much as the others, so putting him out of his misery from the Thorns would be her only gift.

“In exchange, you’ll get not only as many souls as you like from the records… but mine as well, to do with as you wish. Devour me, turn me, make me your slave, I care not.”

Sebastian was surprised to say the least. She wanted other reapers dead? The one’s that she had supposedly called her friends? Though, he realized that if he went through with this contract, he’d be rid of some troublesome reapers. A smirk appeared on his face. “So, you want me to kill your friends? Or should I say, former friends?”

“Emphasis on the former. They’re no friends of mine. If you want, I’ll tell you what happened. In fact, if you’re doubting my sincerity on this…”

Grell ripped her glasses off, snapped them in two, threw them on the ground, then stomped on the halves until they were shattered and beyond repair. She hoped that she wouldn’t need to explain the significance of what she had just done.

Sebastian watched her with interest as she smashed her glasses. He knew exactly what the significance of this meant. “I see, so you’re very serious about this. Serious enough to desert the reapers,” he said, his eyes now glowing red. “Very well then, I will form a contract with you.”

“Thank you. Shall we do this somewhere other than the front door?” She didn’t care either way, but she would leave that decision to the demon.

“We will do this elsewhere, follow me.” He lead her to a secluded part of the manor where they would not be disturbed. “We cannot allow anyone else to see this.”

“Oh definitely. Those servants would have heart attacks, and th- Ciel would be pissed off, likely.” That was all she said. She would let him take the lead, as she knew from dealing with humans and some records, that there was some ceremony involved in this.

_Funny how watching some of those contract making with humans would come in handy now._

“I agree,” he said simply. He turned to the red head and pulled off the glove that covered his demonic seal. “Where do you want your contract seal? The more visible the place, the more control you have.”

Grell replied without hesitation, “My eye. I have no shame for what I am doing. Let them see.” She knew it would hurt, but she didn’t care. Besides, she loved pain… now included.

“Very well then,” he said, his eyes continuing to glow and shadows began to fill the room. The shadows formed around Sebastian to reveal his true form. He extended a clawed hand to Grell. “Once you shake my hand, the contract will be sealed and the mark will appear in your eye.”

Grell saw the form and managed to hide a shiver.

_Damned gorgeous for a demon…_

She closed the distance and took the clawed hand in her own, shaking it firmly.

As expected, her eye exploded in pain, and with a toothy smile, she took it in but not without a shriek. Blood poured from the orb, the one opposite of Ciel’s own contract mark, and even then, gripped the hand. She knew that as his second master, she would have the option to give him a different name or have him keep his current one. Considering everything, the latter sounded like the better choice.

Once the pain passed, she was surprised to find she could see not only him clearly… but everything else.

_A side effect, I guess… we don’t know how Shinigami-demon contracts work or their side effects. If this is exactly that, I’m not complaining!_

Sebastian grinned wickedly as blood poured from her eye and the contract seal formed. Once the contract was formed, the shadows dispersed and Sebastian returned to his previous form. “there, it is complete.”

Grell nodded. “you will keep your current name, considering the circumstances. We will need a few days to plan and prepare. I can and will change my form, so I will be needing a place to stay in the meantime. I won’t use the bumbling butler from before, but another. You think that you could use another capable maid?”

He nodded. “Very well. I’m certain I will be able to disguise you into a maid so that the young master won’t suspect anything.”

“Good, I had best get an eyepatch while I’m in disguise. That br- Ciel will know a contract mark when he sees one.”

Grell may seem like a ditzy, irritating idiot, but there was a razor-sharp brain in her skull that few recognized, much less saw.

They were all about to find out, the hard way… not only what she really was, but also that  fucking around with her came at a bloody price.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> permission for the bonding scene was given by Tibun and Xenobia

Back at the dispatch, Eric and Alan were hard at work, having volunteered to take over for the day so William could spend more time with Ronald.

_Lugh, there’s sae much paperwork. How does the man ever keep i’ all straigh’?_

Right before lunch, more papers came in for them including a pair of notes. One was addressed to Alan, the other to Eric. If he was looking at it right, both were written by Spears.

“Oi, Alan! Looks like we got some notes from the boss. One’s fer ye, an’ one for me. Wonder wha’ they say?”

Alan walked over to Eric when his name was called. He was already feeling a bit exhausted from all the work, but it was worth it for William to spend time for Ronald. “I’m not sure. Let’s see.” He picked up the note addressed to him and started to read it while Eric did the same with his.

His note contained information about various tasks that needed to be done that day as well as a thank you for getting him the day off. Eric’s note contained some of the same information but he explained what happened with Grell earlier and to start filing paperwork against her.

“Shite! Love, ye gotta read this… Ronnie’s memory is back bu’… helluva way tae ge’ tha’ tae happen…”

The Scot saw a post-script that was addressed to him, but hadn’t a chance to read it, as the main part of it had caught his eye.

Alan took Eric’s note and his eyes widened at what he read. “I can’t believe Sutcliff did this! I’m glad Ronald’s memory came back but now I’m worried about what Sutcliff is planning.”

“Aye, same here. We cannae dae tae much a’ the momen’, bu’ we’ll need tae keep on our toes. If we’re lucky, it’ll all blow over. Usually does. If nae sae lucky, it’ll be another Jack the Ripper. Och, we gotta put some papers through for Spears, too. Oi, can I see my note back a wee bi’? Saw a postscrip’. Better ye’, can ye tell me wha’ i’ says?”

Alan nodded and scanned over the bottom of the note. “He says we need to watch out for Grell. When she left, she said, ‘this isn’t over, not by a long shot.’ I’m worried, just what is she planning?”

“I dinnae know. Bu’ I have a bad feelin’ abou’ all this, These papers… they’re tae transfer mentorship of Ronnie from Sutcliff tae Spears, and fer Red tae never mentor again. Abou’ time. I told him tae dae tha’.”

Alan nodded. “That’s definitely a good thing. It looks like he wants us to start the paperwork to have Grell arrested for what she has done. He’ll sign off on it first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Who’da though’ tha’ Red would pull this shite? I dinnae wan’ tae think abou’ i’, bu’ dae ye see Red goin’ tae a demon tae contrac’ or desertin’ over this?”

“I honestly don’t know Eric,” Alan sighed and hugged his lover. “But I am worried about what will happen because of all this.”

“Aye… bu’ I’ll protec’ ye, and t’gether we’ll protec’ the boss and Ronnie.” He sighed and held Alan closer to him.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Eric said and let go of Alan. The brunet let go and took a step back.

One of the reapers came in, face extremely pale.

“Sirs, a blast of dark energy was spotted on the Phantomhive estate. Also…”

“A blast of dark energy?” Alan asked.

The reaper nodded. “A blast of dark energy was released at Phantomhive Manor. Nobody can figure out where or who it came from. Also, nobody can find Sutcliff.”

“Och, he’s likely in her fla’,” Eric said.

Alan nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably where Sutcliff is. But why that dark blast of energy…?”

“Yeah, me too. We’ll tell the Boss t’morrow if nothin’ happens t’day. This’s their day.”

The reaper nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Eric then held Alan closer to him and captured  his lips in a tender rush. The brunet, to his mind, needed a pleasant distraction.

A little later while later there was another knock on the door.

Eric paused in his thrusting and replied. “Wha’ is i’?” Alan laid underneath the man, trying to keep quiet so no one would suspect their actions.

“A report Mr. Slingby, about the disturbance at the Phantomhive Manor. Nothing was found except for pieces of eyeglasses at the front door. I’ll put it in the box if you’re busy.”

“A-aye… I’m in a meetin’. I’ll ge’ tae i’ later.”

“I understand sir,” the reaper said before leaving.

Once Eric was sure the other had left, he kissed Alan. “Now, where were we?”

\--

A blonde-haired woman adjusted her new maid’s uniform, fitting her just right.

_I almost wish I had taken on this form the first time I was in disguise. But… I couldn’t do then what I can now._

She then took a silk eyepatch that was on the dresser and put it on, being careful not to get it caught in her curls as she fastened it over her left eye. The other was a beautiful emerald green, not the double- iris eye of reapers. The woman then tried different voices until she settled on a Cockney accent. “Yeah… tha’ll be perfect! I be Catherine Hughes… but ya can call me Cathy…! Good ta meetcha! H’llo, young master! What can I do ya fer t’day?” After a few minutes of this, she heard a knock on the door. “Aye, who be there?”

“It’s me, my lady,” Sebastian called.

“C’mon in, sir!” Grell called out, staying in her new character. While she didn’t sound even remotely like Ronald, there was some credibility in not sounding like her butler self, much less her former reaper self. “I be Catherine Hughes from th’  Bow Bells, Cheapside District, Sir!” She gave a quick wink, then asked normally, “Think that’ll be enough to start throwing off suspicion?”

Sebastian entered the room and takes in Grell’s appearance. He knew that this would be enough to fool everyone. “Yes. I don’t think anyone will have any clue who you really are.”

“Good. I did say I am a damned good actress, you know.” She cleared her throat and said, switching back, “Wot shall I do first, sir? Meetin’ an’ greetin’, or straight ta work?”

“We had best have you get to work right away. The ‘meet and greet’ can come later,” he said. “When will we begin planning?”

“We start tonight. And Sebastian…” She lifted the eyepatch, contract mark glittering. “This is an order. These are my three absolute orders. One, you will never betray me. Second, you will carry out my orders absolutely unless they conflict with the brat’s. Three, you will never lie to me.” If Grell was of sound mind, she wouldn’t have put in that exception. But she was very aware that she wasn’t Sebastian’s only master at the moment and kept it in mind.

Sebastian kneels before her and bows his head. “Yes, my lady.” After all, he couldn’t disobey an order from his master.

_I could get used to this!_ “Good. Now…” The new maid switched voices. “Wot shall I be doin’ firs’, Mistah Sebastian?”

A short time later, Ciel, the brat himself, was walking about the manor when he saw his butler with someone he did not recognize: a blonde in a maid’s outfit. “Sebastian!” He barked out as he came over, “I don’t recall hiring on a new maid. Explain yourself!”

Sebastian looked over to Ciel and put on a smile. “Hello young master. It has come to my attention that the Manor needed a new hire in order to keep everything running efficiently. This is Catherine Hughes. She is a very capable maid that can get the job done.”

“Wot cheer, guvnor… ahh, Young Mastah! I won’t let ya down, I won’t!”

“Good. The last thing we need is another walking Mei-Rin.” He peered at her. “Catherine Hughes, you say? Where are you from?”

“Bow Bells, Cheapside District, Young Mastah. Call m’Cathy if’n ye like.”

“I shall do no such thing. What happened to your eye?”

“Lost it in an accident as a wee tyke, I did. But don’ ye fret none, I’ve been doin’ maid’s work fer years, an’ I do as well with one eye as others do wit two!”

“Interesting,” he said, though he sounded bored. “Carry on, you two.”

“Yes, young master,” Sebastian replied.

Catherine echoed him, bowing her head as well. Ciel looked her over and used his cane to strike her upper leg. “Ow!”

“Let that be a small lesson to you. Mind your place. You’re new here, so I’ll let it slide… this time. I trust Sebastian will keep you in line. Understand, Catherine?”

“Yes, Young Mastah!”

“Good. Sebastian, as soon as you introduce her to that lot, set her to work and start my lunch. I want a chocolate treat with it.”

Sebastian kept a straight face when Ciel hit Grell with his cane, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it anyways. “Yes, young master. I will see to it shortly,” he said. This kid was such a brat.

After Ciel left, the maid said in a voice low enough only for Sebastian to hear, “Wot a brat!”

“I know,” Sebastian replied. “Are you ok, my lady?”

“I’m fine. Compared to what Spears has dished out, this is nothing,” she replied. “Some f his ideas of punishment sent me to the infirmary a few times.”

Sebastian nodded. “Just remember, soon he and the other reapers will pay. For now, I will introduce you to the others.”

“Awright! Lookin’ forward ta meetin th’ others, I am! Wot’re they like, Mistah Sebastian?”

Sebastian led her through the manor. “Well, Bardroy is the cook, though he tends to use explosives in the kitchen which causes a lot of damage. Mei-Rin is a maid though she’s very clumsy. And Finny is the Gardener and has exceptional strength but tends to destroy the gardens.”

Grell knew this stuff, but as Catherine from Bow Bells, she had to act to perform. “Wot a mess. Welp, I won’t be disappointin’ ye. I’ll do m’best tha’ I will!”

They first arrived in the kitchen where Bard was attempting to cook a meal with a flamethrower. “Oi! Sebastian, who’s this?” he asked when he noticed the two.

“Catherine Hughes from Bow Bells a’ yer service! I’m the new maid. Good ta meetcha! Oi, Mistah Sebastian, ye weren’t takin’ th’ piss abou’ this fella, no ya aren’t!”

Bard smiled. Nice ta meet you Miss Hughes. I do cook with this stuff a lot but Mister Sebastian doesn’t like it when I do.”

“Aww, call me Cathy! An’ I can see why!” she said with a laugh. What an idiot. Doesn’t he know that this isn’t cooking. Now she could see why Sebastian does all of it.

“Miss Hughes is going to work here as a maid. Try not to do anything stupid,” Sebastian said and took the flamethrower away. “Now get back to work cooking and no more weaponry.”

“Aw, fine. It was nice to meet you Miss Hughes. I hope you like it here.”

“Ah think I’m gonna jus’ love it here!” she replied and hurried out with Sebastian. “Awright, who’s next?” The maid asked.

“Next will be Mei-Rin,” Sebastian started to say but was cut off by the sound of something breaking.

“Wha’ broke, ah wonder? Sounds like plates,” she replied as she hurried with him. When the duo arrived, it was all Grell/Catherine could do to keep from facepalming.

Sebastian sighed. “What happened Mei-Rin?”

“Ah! Mistah Sebastian! I wos carrying the plates to the kitchen but I fell when I stepped on my shoelaces,” she explained. She then saw Grell. “Who’s this?”

“Catherine Hughes from Bow Bells, Cheapside District, a’ yer service, I am! Mistah Sebastian hired me as a new maid, ‘e did. Glad to meetcha!” Inside, Grell wondered how Sebastian was going to replace all those broken plates… much less the ones busted through the years.

“Oh, nice t’ mee’ ya Miss Hughes,” Mei-Rin said and stood up, brushing some dust off her dress.

“Miss Hughes will be working here as a aid, so try not to cause trouble for her,” Sebastian said and handed her a broom and dustpan, “And clean up this mess. I will handle getting the new plates."

“Yes sir,” she said and took the broom and dustpan.

Grell didn’t know where the thought came from, but she got the feeling that if Mei-Rin got the wrong idea, there might be a catfight. As they left, she whispered, “How do you keep from snapping her neck? And do you order the plates or make them?”

“It is very difficult, trust me,” he said once out of earshot. “My lady, a butler must have his secrets.” He smiled and led her outside to find Finny.

In the garden was little Finny, wearing his straw hat and pulling weeds. He stood, wiped off the sweat and turned to tend to the roses when he saw them. “Ahh! Mister Sebastian, h’llo! I finished the weeding and usin’ fertilizer on the herb garden! I was about to tend to the master’s roses next.” His eyes bugged out when he saw the new girl. “Ohh! She’s awful pretty! Who is she?”

“Nice ta meetcha! Catherine Hughes is the name.” She greeted, shaking a hand. She then saw one of the bushes wilting. “Wha’s with th’ rose bush o’er there? Looks a wee bit peaky, it does.”

Sebastian quirked a brow. “What happened to that rose bush, Finny?”

The blonde gardener went over and checked it out. It was one he had fertilized. He checked the half-open bag. “Oh no… not again! Weed killer!” He cried. Thankfully, that was the only bush he had made the mistake with… this time…

Sebastian sighed. “You need to pay attention to things like this Finny. Luckily it was not the whole garden this time.”

“Does ‘e do tha’ often?” That was something Grell was genuinely curious about.

The demon nodded. “I’m afraid so. Thought it’s usually more of the garden that gets ruined/ I guess we are lucky this time, I’ll only have to replace the one bush.”

“Yeah…guess I’m getting’ better at this, huh?” Finny laughed.

\--

The next day, Eric was busy working when he heard his office door open. “Mornin’, Sir. Oh, Lugh! Alan, look who’s come back! Ronnie!”

Alan looked up to see both Ronald and William. He stood up and hugged the ginger reaper. “Welcome back, Ronald!”

“Thank ya! How’re ya two horny wankers been doin’? I hope ol’ man Sutcliff ain’t here, or I’m likely ta give th’ daffy bastard a knuckle sandwich.”

Alan blushed at Ronald’s comment. “Ronald, we aren’t horny wankers.”

“He ain’t been ‘ere, Ronnie. Thank Lugh fer tha’. Sae, yer memory is back?”

“Aye, it is!”

“Och, Will-er, Spears,” Eric said. “Two bits of news. Th’ council granted yer request tae make Ronne yer junior. They ‘eard wha’ he  did an’ caused… and they ain’t happy ‘bout it. Blackmailing a junior, causin’ him tae nearly die an’ lose his memory.”

Eric hesitated before continuing, “As tae Sutcliff… there was a blast of dark energy from th’ Doghouse. When investigated, they found nothin’ but pieces of red eyeglasses. Grell’s been d’clared a deserter.”

William was shocked to hear that Sutcliff had deserted. “You’re kidding right?”

“Spears, I’d never take th’ piss with ye abou’ anybody desertin’, especially abou’ Sutcliff. Th’ declaration of bein’ deserter is wha’, ironically enough, go’ yer reques’ granted sae fas’. Funny ‘nough,’e has nae been seen since.”

“You’re right… but to think Sutcliff would go this far? We’re all in danger if Sutcliff really did make a contract with that Phantomhive demon,” William said.

“I dinnae wan’ tae think abou’ i’ anymore than ye dae. Bu’, we cannae be sure she did make a contract wit’ Michaelis. If we’re lucky, the mutt had him offed.”

“Can we get ta work fer now?” Ronald asked. “I need to move my things-“

“B’fore ye do tha’… go check out Spears-‘xcuse me, Spears an’ yer office. We out in voluntary o’ertime too. Yer welcome.” Eric and Alan had been busy after clock-out getting Ronald’s desk, paperwork and items transferred over from Sutcliff’s office to Williams.

“Thanks guys. I appreciate it,” Ronald smiled and hugged them before he and William headed to their office.

There in the inbox, in an envelope marked with his name, was a second set of keys. He went inside and found that everything was indeed moved and a second desk put in, complete with a name plaque. “Sweet!”

William walked up behind Ronald and wrapped his arms around the ginger. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love ya too… mmm… our own piece o’ heaven. Not sure if I should thank Sutcliff fer us gettin’ together or hit him. Bu’… we’re likely gonna have ta kill him.”

“I’m glad,” William smiled and kissed the side of his neck. Though, the smiles quickly went away. “I know… I worry about what’s going to happen. No matter what happens, I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

“I know, but I won’t let anyone hurt you either,” Ronald said. He was silent a moment before asking, “think it’d be a bit fast ta do a bonding next full moon? Tha’ way ye’d always know where I am, an’ how I’m doin’… though I gotta warn ya, we’d need know each other’s emotions and pain, too…”

William turned Ronald around so he could kiss him deeply. “I don’t think it would be too fast. If you want to do it, then so do I.”

Ronald kissed him back just as deeply, pouring in his passion. “Next full moon is next week, I think. Lookin’ forward ta it.”

\--

Later that night, William was experiencing an all too familiar dream.

_Ronald was in William’s office, trying to explain that the negative impact on his work wasn’t his fault._

_Ronald’s eyes widened. Didn’t he get it?!_

_“I told ya, I’m not slackin’ off! Why th’ fuck aren’t ya listenin’? Don’t ya even believe me?!” His tone was irritated, bordering on angry._

_William blinked, realizing he was now having the same conversation with Ronald prior to him getting attacked. No, this time he would fix things, even if it would only fix things in the dream._

_“Ronald,” he said calmly. “I do believe you. I want you to tell me what kind of trouble you’re in.”_

**_That_ ** _threw Ronald for a loop, but then a mixture came across his face: shock, disbelief, hope and relief._

_After a moment he said, “I’m bein’ blackmailed inta doin’ Sutcliff’s paperwork. Th’ barmy bastard got m’way too drunk, then posin’ in bird clothin’ an’ makeup. Took photos, too. Said if I didn’t do ‘is work while skivvin’ ta see th’ Phantomhive  pet demon, shoppin’ or both, ‘ed spread ‘em ta all o’ Dispatch, especially ta ya. If I told, ‘ed spread the fuckin’ photos, too…” He paused. “An’ once he finds out that  told ya, th’ maniac’ll do it too.”_

_The ginger hoped that William would see that he was telling the truth._

_William frowned at this. “I will make sure Sutcliff is taken care of and that none of those photos will be given to anyone. If even one gets out that will add to Sutcliff’s punishment,” he assured him. “I will also see to it that Sutcliff is no longer your mentor.”_

_Ronald was, to put it lightly, extremely relieved._

_“Sweet! Thank ya, William! Ya have no idea how much this means ta me. So, who’ll mentor me-“ he then blushed up to his ears as he added, “Shit… I mean Boss…”_

_He paused and said, “I was meanin’ ta tell ya this t’day…I, well… I rather fancy ya. Nah, fancy’s too weak a word fer it… I’m in love with ya. I care an’ worry abou’ ya all th’ time… an’ th’ last time ya collapsed, it broke m’heart.”_

_William’s face flushed when he heard Ronald’s confession. He tried to formulate a response but instead decided to lean forward and kiss the ginger. “I… I am in love with you, Ronald.”_

\--

Grell…rather Catherine, had been at the Phantomhive Manor for a week, and between planning sessions, she was just loving it. She not only had changed her camouflage to resemble a real woman much more closely, thanks to the side-effects if her contract, but she was doing her best work as a maid.

Of course, she often had to go behind Mei-Rin to fix her mistakes, like shoe polish on the staircase or catching some dishes in a fall, but she loved it all the same.

The only things keeping her from forgetting why she was there was her intense hatred for the reapers, and her contract mark in her left eye.

“Oi, Mistah Sebastian,” she asked, “needin’ ‘elp wit’ th’ lunch again?”

That was their code for meeting, but at times she was surprised  that it wasn’t just a code.

Sebastian was pleasantly surprised when he found that Grell was doing an exceptional job as a maid. He remembered that when she was a butler, she did a horrible job but now he knows that was just an act. Things were getting done around the manor and he did not have to fix as many mistakes, which he was grateful for. “Yes, that would be helpful, Miss Hughes.”

Catherine followed the butler into the kitchen. As she figured, Bardroy had left the place a mess. “Another flamethrower gone wild? I swear, someone needs to reap that guy. Just say the word, and I’ll do it.” She paused and said, “I’ve been thinking. How about luring some of the smaller fry to their deaths? It’d bring in the bigger catches, for sure. There are often weak juniors and incompetent Seniors put on collections. It’s simple: we come across someone dying, wait for them to show up. I lure them to you… we take it from there.”

Sebastian smirked. “I think we can mange that. They won’t know what hit them.”

Grell let out a chuckle, then heard little footsteps approaching. The brat. “Oi, Mistah Sebastian. I symp’thize wit ya, but wot’re we gonna do wit th’ cook? Can’t ya put ‘im on another spot?”

Sebastian also heard the footsteps and returned to character. “Unfortunately, I cannot do that. If I were to move him to another position, he would cause even more damage.”

“Aye. Yer right, as always!”

“I certainly hope you’re not lollygagging about,” a familiar voice spoke from the door.

“Not a’ all, Young Mastah! Tha’ Bard blew up th’ kitchen ‘gain, an’ we weren cleanin’ an’ talking about ‘im.”

“Hmph. That American. I wonder at times why I keep him. He’s a pest. Speaking of which, I thought I heard that red-headed freak here. Is he about?”

Grell had to keep her temper in check at that. At least Sebastian finally addressed and considered her a woman.

“Wot freak? I ’aven’t seen anybody ‘round, no I ‘aven’t. ‘Ow about you, Mistah Sebastian?”

“No. Nobody else is here other than us,” Sebastian confirmed.

“Hm.” Ciel thought for a moment , the said, “He had better not show up. Hurry up with the lunch. I want a chocolate cake with it.” He peered and said, “You’re doing much better than I expected, Catherine. I had thought we’d have another Mei-Rin on our hands. Sebastian, how do you find working with her?”

“Miss Hughes is doing very well, young master. She has been doing an exceptional job and is pleasant to work with,” Sebastian said.

“Good, carry on. Remember… chocolate cake with lunch.” Ciel left.

Grell waited until the brat was out of earshot. “Tha’ was close! We’re goin’ ta have ta make sure others ain’t around next time.”

“Yes, we will. It wouldn’t do to have the Young Master find out about you.”

“Mmm… so, when do we start our lil’ project, Mistah Sebastian?” Grell knew that tonight would be a full moon… the kind that would be used for reapers taking vows. She dismissed the thought. That had nothing to do with her anymore. “Full moon t’night…”

“Whenever you want to start. Does the full moon have some special significance?” the demon asked.

“No… not anymore. To those reapers, yes, but not to me. But in a full moon, we’d be easily seen. Best to wait until it starts fading.”

\--

That night, Ronald stayed in his best clothes. He knew it was a full moon… the night he and William would take the vows, becoming not only bound as each other’s soulmates forever, but, in essence, married. “Are ya ready to do this, love?” He asked William.

William remained in his best clothes as well. He was both eager and nervous for this ceremony. “Yes, I’m ready.”

Ronald led them out to William’s backyard, where the pigeon coop and small garden was at. As expected, the full moon was out, casting its light on the scene.

He wrapped his arms around William, giving a deep kiss before withdrawing only enough to hold the older man hands in his own. The ginger hoped that his accent would not hinder pronunciation of  the old language…much.

_“I swear by Heaven, Earth, and all realms in between that you are my soul’s mate, from this night forth,”_ Ronald spoke in the ancient language of the reapers, utter love and sincerity in his voice. “ _May the full moon bear witness to this pledge. I devote myself to you, William T. Spears, and I shall protect you, as I know you will protect me. I shall never betray you, as I know you will never betray me. My body, heart and spirit are one with yours. So say I, Ronald Knox.”_

William smiled and squeezed the other’s hands and began to speak his part of the vow. “ _I swear by Heaven, Earth, and all realms in between that you are my soul’s mate, from this night forth. May the full moon bear witness to this pledge. I devote myself to you, Ronald Knox, and I shall protect you, as I know you will protect me. I shall never betray you, as I know you will never betray me. My body, heart and spirit are one with yours. So say I, William T. Spears.”_

William then captured Ronald’s lips in a tender kiss.

Ronald gasped as he felt the bond take hold. He felt William’s emotions, including the deep, passionate love he had for the ginger. He also felt an overwhelming, desperate need to connect with his now husband, in any way possible, including physically.

It was a blur between then and being indoors, removing clothes on the way. It was a good thing that the next day was Sunday, their day off because Ronald could tell that they would be making love all night long.

\--

Ronald and William weren’t the only ones with the idea of taking the vows that night.

When Eric overheard his best mate and boss talking about it, it had put the same idea into his head and he proposed to Alan that night. Granted, the Scot thought that the other couple were moving too fast, but for once, he was wise enough to hold his tongue.

He had feared that he would have overtime still on the night of the full moon, but somehow, the pair were not only excused from overtime that night but got to go home early to prepare for it. The Scot had no idea where the generosity came from, but he wasn’t looking this horse in the mouth.

Alan was glad they had gotten to go home early. He had news to tell Eric that he was excited about. He had gone to the doctor to find out why he’d been feeling nauseous and sick the past few days and gotten some surprising results. He arrived home shortly after Eric did. “Eric, I’m home. I’ve got some news from the doctor.”

Eric was preparing for their ritual when Alan came home. He said, “Oh? An’ wha’s makin’ m’precious Light sae sick? Ye goin’ tae be able tae dae this t’nigh’?”

“Yeah, I’ll be able to go through the ritual don’t worry,” he said and kissed him before saying, “I’m pregnant.”

The Scot was still as he absorbed the words. Then, he let out a whoop, followed by a big grin. He wrapped his arms around Alan and spun him around. “Och, tha’s th’ bes’ news I’ve ever heard! We’re gonna have a wee tyke runnin’ ‘round here!”

Alan was surprised when he was spun around and laughed. “I’m glad you’re happy. I’m very excited.” The two shared another kiss before Eric spoke again.

“I’s time tae perform the ritual. Are ye ready?”

Alan nodded. “I am.”

They went outside and stood next to Alan’s garden, facing each other, holding each other hands.

Alan took a breath before speaking, “ _I swear by Heaven, Earth, and all realms in between that you are my soul’s mate, from this night forth. May the full moon bear witness to this pledge. I devote myself to you, Eric Slingby, and I shall protect you, as I know you will protect me. I shall never betray you, as I know you will never betray me. My body, heart and spirit are one with yours. So say I, Alan Humphries.”_

Eric just loved the way the Ancient tongue rolled off Alan’s tongue. He looked deep into his lover’s eyes as he spoke, squeezing his hand and putting all of his love and devotion he felt into each word.

“ _I swear by Heaven, Earth, and all realms in between that you are my soul’s mate, from this night forth. May the full moon bear witness to this pledge. I devote myself to you, Alan Humphries, and I shall protect you, as I know you will protect me. I shall never betray you, as I know you will never betray me. My body, heart and spirit are one with yours. So say I, Eric Slingby.”_

Eric’s kissed Alan deeply, surprised by the new sensations he felt from Alan. He knew the brunet was feeling the same. He picked up Alan and carried him back inside, only making it as far as the couch.

It was going to be a long night for both couples.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay everyone! I have been very busy with school. This chapter is a little shorter but I am hoping to upload chapter 8 within the next couple of weeks to make up for the delay.

It was Monday morning when the plan went to work. There were a pair of children scheduled to die from abuse.

Jensen and his partner, Michaels, were assigned to the case. Once the children were reaped, they were about to head back when a blonde-haired woman in a black dress appeared. “Oh! Oh, help me! A maniac’s after me! Yes ‘e is! A red-haired monster wit’ a weird weapon!”

Michaels and Jensen shared a look. “You think it could be Sutcliff?” Jensen asked.

“Definitely, Sutcliff’s Jack the Ripper, an’ now a deserter,” Michaels said then looked at the maid. “Lead us to where you last saw the red-haired monster. We’ll take him down.”

“Aww, thank ya! This way!” She smiled and led the two in the direction of the “monster.”

After chasing the girl, Michaels and Jensen found themselves in a dead-end alley, with no sign of Sutcliff. “Oi! Where’s th’ redhead?”

A familiar voice spoke, but from the wrong mouth. “Right here you dimwits,” the maid spoke. “Disarm them.”

Sebastian lunged at the two reapers from the shadows. He quickly disarmed them and threw them to the ground.

“What the hell!?” Jensen yelled as he tried to fight back but was unsuccessful in his attempt.

“Mmm-hmm-mmm… you didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you? I recognize you both… Michaels and Jensen. Always writing nasty notes and wishing me dead…” Grell spoke.

“You freak! Wait till Spears finds ou-“ Michaels started.

“He won’t… just yet. Definitely not from you two.” The blonde raised her eyepatch showing the contract mark.

“Y-you… you really did! You freaky traitor!” Jensen yelled.

This would be Grell’s first official act as Sebastian’s master. She looked forward to it. “Sebastian. This is an order. Kill them, take their souls for a meal, then send their scythes to Spears… as a message!”

Sebastian smirked, his eyes glowing red. “Yes, my Lady.” He withdrew some knives from his coat and lunged for Jensen, stabbing him in the chest and neck. Jensen was killed immediately from the wounds.

Michaels gasped with shock. Normally, the knives  would not have affected them, but it was obvious that-

“Noticed, did you? Those knives aren’t the common variety. They’re made with Grey Metal; the same stuff Death Scythes are made of!” Grell grinned wickedly.

“Son of a bitch!” Michaels yelled while trying to get away. “I’ll be back-“

“Oh no you won’t. Sebastian, kill him!”

Sebastian pulled the knives from Jensen’s body and lunged at Michaels, stabbing and killing him as well.

“Excellent work, Sebastian. I daresay we make a good team after all. The souls are yours. Just make sure the scythes are sent to the hardass prick as a message.”

“I will see that these are sent right away. Is there anything else, My Lady?”

Grell gave a toothy grin. “Just this… Bon Appetit.”

Sebastian grinned. “Thank you, my Lady.”

\--

A few hours later, Ronald was hard at work alongside his husband William. At lunchtime, he popped out long enough to get their meals, including what he now knew was William’s favorite. On the way back, Ronald saw a package, addressed to his husband, and in a handwriting he didn’t recognize. “Oh, hey, Will! Here’s yer lunch. Jus’ saw this here, addressed ta ya.”

William smiled at Ronald. “Thank you love.” He quirked a brow when his husband mentioned there being a package for him. “I wonder what it is.” He got up and went to open the box. What’s inside shocks him. “These are… there are Michaels’ and Jensen’s scythes!”

Ronald looked inside, seeing a buzz saw and a pair of rose clippers. “Holy shi’!” Those two’d never le’ them go withou’ dyin’.”

William also peered into the box and saw the scythes. “This isn’t good. We need to check and see what reaps the two were scheduled for.” What could’ve happened? Did they encounter demons? But demons wouldn’t take the time to send their scythes back… right?

The two left for the department that handled the To-Die lists right after.

Ronald was worried. “I’ve got a bad feelin’ abou’ this…”

“Me too,” William replied. Once they arrived at their destination, William went straight to the boss.

The man in question was an older reaper. He looked up at the two and smiled. “Good day to you, sirs. Congratulations on your bonding.”

“Thank ya – wai’ we’re no’ here abou’ tha’. Go’ some business.”

“Thank you, sir, but we have an important matter to discuss. Someone mailed a package to me that contained Jensen and Michael’ death scythes. I know those two would never let their scythes go unless something happened to them. I want to know if their names showed up on the To-Die list and what reaps they were scheduled for today,” William spoke.

The man nodded then went into another room to check the records. Within minutes, he came out, a grim look on his face. “Mr. Spears, Mr. Knox… I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Misters Jensen and Michaels are deceased. Both were killed a few hours ago, and their records cannot be retrieved.”

“Did a demon take their souls?” Ronald asked.

“I am afraid so, sirs. Here is a copy of their collections for the day,” he said and handed William the list.

William took the list, but he was a little pale at learning of their deaths. “Thank you. We’ll be on our way.”

Once they left, Ronald was silent until they got back to their office. He handed William’s lunch to him, then asked tentatively, “Pence fer yer thoughts.”

“I’m just wondering what demon did this and why they sent their scythes back here to me,” William said after a moment of silence.

“No tellin’. Someone has t’ be sending a message,” Ronald sighed and started eating his own meal. “But, whoever i’ is, nobody’s safe.”

William also began to eat but he didn’t have much of an appetite at this point. “This worries me. More reapers may end up being targeted and killed. I doubt this is going to end with just these two.”

Ronald swallowed. “Yeah… m’thinks this is jus’ the start.”

“I’ll need to bring this to the attention of the higher ups as soon as possible. Maybe whatever is going on can be stopped before it gets out of control.”

“Yeah, definitely. Wha’ if it’s Alan, Eric, or m’self nex’ time-“

William pulled the ginger reaper close. “Don’t say that. I won’t let that happen.”

\--

One morning, about two weeks later, Ronald woke up to the feeling of being queasy… and nauseous. He checked himself, ad found that the sensation as faint… as though it wasn’t coming from the ginger. He noticed that William wasn’t beside him on the bed. Ronald got up and checked the bathroom.

William was indeed in the bathroom and had been throwing up into the toilet. He didn’t know why he woke up feeling so sick.

“Aww, poor baby,” Ronald said sympathetically. He knelt down next to his husband and rubbed his back. “How long have ya been sick?”

William glanced at him “Since I woke up. I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. I don’t think I ate anything bad.”

“Who knows? Maybe yer pregnan’,” was the joking reply, followed by a chuckle. “Seriously though, ya migh’ wan’ ta call the doc.”

“I think that’s for the best,” William agreed.

Ronald had no way of knowing if the illness was from stress, from recent events… or, as he jokingly put it, from pregnancy. There had been another pair of scythes mailed to Spears last week, and two more this week. On the last one, Jacoby and McKenzie’s were sent just yesterday. All were dispatched in the same manner: killed, their souls devoured, then the scythes shipped.

William had gone to see the doctor right away. It didn’t take him long to get the results which did surprise him. He went back to his office so he could tell Ronald.

Ronald looked up when William got back from the doctor. “Wha’s up love? What’d the doctor say?”

“Well… I’m pregnant.”

“Y-yer serious ain’t cha?” Ronald asked. Seeing that he was, a big grin came across his goofy face. “Aa man, that’s great! We’re really going ta start a family! I know I was jokin’ when I suggested it earlier bu’… wow!” He went up to William and wrapped himself around his husband, laughing with joy.

William grinned at his husband’s reaction and hugged him tightly. “I know. I’m very happy to be starting a family with you.” He kissed Ronald happily.

Ronald kissed back. “I’ll be there through i’ all. I love ya… and I love our lil one too.”


	8. Chapter 8

Back at the Phantomhive Manor, Sebastian and Grell met in her room to discuss the next plan of action. Grell closed and locked the door. After having a few close calls, it became necessary to lock the door. Grell dropped her main act and spoke, “Since we started, I’ve been intercepting messaged from the Realm. Two of our prime targets are going to be out on collections today. Ronald Knox and Alan Humphries.”

The demon nodded. “Will they be together or will we have to hunt them down separately?”

“Those two’ll be together. After our efforts, nobody goes out alone. That’s typical procedure, so predictable. But anyway… you might want to get the brat to his townhouse. I’m thinking of using those two as cheese for the bigger cats… and playing with them before they become your meals. Of course, of those two aren’t alone, the extras are yours.” She gave a toothy grin. “It shocks me how much the brat treats you poorly.”

“I can arrange for the young master to be at his townhouse and we’ll have plenty of room to keep those two trapped,” Sebastian said and shrugged. “As long as I get his soul in the end, I don’t care what he does.”

“Excellent. How has your power and nourishment coming along?”

“It’s coming along well. I am even more powerful than before,” he smirked.

“Wonderful!” She let out a little laugh. “A month ago, I’m not sure if we’d toss out the muppet that would say that you would agree to a contract… or that we’d work together so well.”

Sebastian chuckled. “I suppose you are right there. How soon do I need to send the young master to his townhouse?”

“We have enough time to feed the brat and send him out. Collection is just before noon.”

The demon nodded. “Understood. Let’s get everything situated then.”

Sure enough, Ciel had to be awakened and as fussy as ever with his usual morning tea. “Sebastian, what is the schedule for today?”

As Sebastian got him ready for the day, he explained the schedule to him which included him going to his townhouse for a bit.

“Hm. So let me get this straight. I’m to leave for the townhouse right after I eat? What about Catherine and the three idiots?”

“I think Catherine is more than capable of keeping those three in line,” the demon responded.

“I certainly hope so. But do you really expect me to go there alone?!”

“You won’t be there alone. I have arranged for Soma and Agni to attend you.”

“Hmph. That brat of a prince… at least Agni isn’t quite the bother.” Ciel peered at him. “I have no idea what has gotten into you this past month, and I’m not sure that I like it. It’s disquieting.”

“I am not sure what you are referring to, young master. I am the same as always.”

“Now you would not happen to be lying to me, are you? That would be a breach of our contract, would it not?” The boy hmphed and muttered, “damn demon.”

Sebastian smiled. “I assure you, young master, I am not lying to you.”

“Good. Then get the carriage ready and tell Tanaka that he’s driving.”

After Ciel finished the tea and breakfast, he hurried outside, seeing the carriage, all ready to go, and Tanaka in the front seat. “Sebastian! I will be expecting sweets with every meal for a month after this, If I have to make it an order, I will.”

“I understand, young master. I will see to it,” Sebastian answered.

“Good. Tanaka, we’re going!”

“Ho, ho, ho…” was the only reply as the small steward got the carriage into motion. Catherine then said, “That little brat! Can’t you find a loophole so you can take his soul, like if he violates it?” She shook her head.

“Perhaps there is a way, but I think I’ll play this game a little longer. Shall we head out then?” He asked.

“We better have a word with the three muppets first. If they’re staying, they should know that they may have some fighting to do… unless they’re fodder as well.”

“They can be of use to us, trust me on that.”

“Believe me, I do. Well, best warn them, then we’ll get going.”

\--

Finny came up to Mei-Rin and Bard, breathless from running. “Mei! Bard! Mister Sebastian wants to see us in the main room, right now! Cathy’s with him!”

“It must be important, or else he wouldn’t be calling all of us together,” Bard said.

Mei-Rin nodded. “Let’s get going then.”

The three started for the main room when Finny spoke up. “Miss Cathy’s so nice, an’ really good! Mister Sebastian likes her too! Hey, Mei, what’s wrong?”

“I think she’s hiding something. I don’t trust her,” the maid replied.

Finny noticed that her voice had slipped out of the normal “Cockney maid” manner but didn’t comment on it. “Hiding something? Like what? Don’t ya think you’re jealous?”

“I’m not jealous!” she exclaimed.

Bard chuckled. “Sure, ya aren’. Then what do you think she’s hiding? You might want to get into the act before we get there. Your voice is slipping.”

“I don’t know but it’s not good,” she said before slipping back into her accent. “This bettah?”

“Yep!” Finny remarked.

The three entered the main room and saw Sebastian and Catherine talking. “Mister Sebastian?” Bard spoke. “We’re here.”

Sebastian looked to the three. “Excellent. Miss Catherine, would you like to explain everything?”

She nodded. “We’ll be entertainin’ some… guests in a short time. I won’t lie, there will be enemies goin’ aftah not just them but us too, they will. We’ll be upgrading each of your weapons to deal with ‘em properly. Here are yer instructions. Only two people are allowed through the doors: a blonde Scotsman carrying a saw an’ a black haired main wieldin’ pruners. Anyone else is to be killed on sigh’. This is gonna be dangerous, it is so th’ Young Mastah has been moved to safety.”

“You can count on us, Mister Sebastian, Miss Cathy!”

\--

Ronald and Alan were tending to a joint reap when a blonde woman in a black maid’s dress appeared.

“Oh! Oh Gods, help me! A maniac’s aftah me, there is! Long, red-haired freak wit’ a weird weapon! He said tha’ ‘ed kill me!”

The woman sounded near tears, and they glistened in her eyes.

“A redhead wit’ a weird weapon? Tha’s Sutcliff! Th’ daffy bastard’s back ta the’ Ripper days! C’mon Alan, we gotta ge’ her! Lady, can ya take us ta where ye saw her?”

“U-Umm… he’ll kill me…”

“Nah, we’ll protec’ ye. Promise! Righ’, Alan?”

Alan nodded. “That’s right. We will protect you, please lead us to where you saw her.”

“Okay! Thank ya! Come wit’ me!” The girl led the two reapers to the cul-de-sac, one where bodies of reapers had been found.

“Wait a sec… this place’s awfully familiar… where’s Sutcliff a’, lady?!”

Catherine laughed in a very familiar way. “Ohh… hhmhm… not so gormless as the others. You’ll do nicely. Disarm them! Watch the ginger’s scythe, it’ll be… bulky.”

Sebastian rushed forward and disarmed both reapers of their scythes before they could react.

“What the hell?!” Alan exclaimed.

“You’ve always been slow on the uptake, haven’t you… let’s just say that I’ve found a better side… and new partner’s to boot.”

“Y…ya fuckin’ nutjob! Ya traitor!” Ronald exclaimed, his face pale.

“Sticks and stones, little boy, sticks and stones. You can’t hurt me anymore. Count yourselves lucky that you’re worth more alive than dead… unlike all those other reapers…for now.”

“Y… ya killed them?! Yer own kind?!”

She backhanded him, hard enough to split his lip. “My kind?! You trash have no right to talk! I have _never_ been one of you! Everyone saw to that!”

Sebastian sensed something different about Alan, when he realized what it was, he spoke up. “My Lady, this one appears to be pregnant. I sense a child’s soul within him.”

Grell snarled at this.

“Ohh… pregnant, are you?! How dare you! How dare you go and have the one thing I’ve always wanted… and could never have!”

She spat at Alan.

“I was going to give you a quick death, to spare you from the Thorns… as my only mercy for not being _quite_ as bad as the rest. Not anymore! We’ll have some… fund with you both instead…” She raised her eyepatch, showing her contract mark for all to see.

“Sebastian. This is an order. Knock them both out and take these two back to the Manor. Send the Scythes back later.”

Ronald was pale. “Y-you… ya really did… yer dead, ya fuckin’ traitor-” He was immediately knocked out by Sebastian.

“Ronald!” Alan exclaimed before trying to escape again only to be knocked out as well.

“Yes, my lady,” Sebastian replied, easily picking up the two reapers to transport them back to the manor.


End file.
